Godzilla Legacy
by Kaiju Alpha
Summary: Years after Godzilla's meltdown in 1996, Godzilla Junior, now fully grown, is haunted by the memories of his father's death. Meanwhile, three princesses of the city destroyed by Battra's rage venture to the surface in order to warn humanity about an ancient evil on the verge of awakening and finishing what was started many years ago.
1. Prologue 1

Prologue 1

Legacy, one word with such a vast and expansive definition to it. The handing down of one generation to another to be upheld and cherished. Many legacies are found this way. One certain legacy began a long time ago. A legacy brought on by humanity.

Humanity has a tendency to believe they are the top of the food chain; that they and their glorious expanding empires have nothing to fear aside from themselves. The most frightening thing about humankind is their bloodlust. Without fail, new, more powerful and horrifying weapons are made at a rapid pace, each made to be more devastating than the last. Their bloodlust also extends towards things and concepts they cannot understand and therefore see as a threat to their existence needed to be wiped out. Entire landscapes are also stripped clean just so they can expand their influence and spread like a disease; replacing once lush green forests of trees with forests of concrete and steel.

Yes, for a long time, mankind believed themselves unstoppable, that none would dare to oppose them. That the only thing they had to fear was each other. Unfortunately, that all changed with the introduction of a weapon to end all weapons. One... that would be a catalyst for something far worse than anything humans could comprehend.

On November 3rd, 1954, humanity was defied. Tokyo, Japan's capital, was the first of many cities to fall under the wrath of a giant beast, the product of human arrogance both cursed and gifted with the power of their most terrifying weapon. Within a matter of hours, the city was turned into a sea of fire. The monster, dubbed Godzilla, was subsequently destroyed by an unknown compound at the cost of its creator. For a long time, it was believed Godzilla was truly dead and the world could live again.

Oh how wrong humanity was. Thirty years later, Godzilla appeared again in 1985 and Tokyo was soon placed into a state of destruction equivalent to that of 1954. However, while they couldn't be able to kill Godzilla as they did before, humanity was at least able to seal him away deep in the fiery bowels of the Earth itself. Years passed and the fiery heart was his prison.

At least... until his return five years later. Godzilla was set free from his burning imprisonment by humanity itself and his reign was allowed to begin again. Except this time, he wasn't alone. For as the years past, Godzilla would wage war against other titans such as himself. Some of them were accidents created out of good intentions, others attempts from the future to change the past, some ancient deities reawakened into a world long since changed, others were prehistoric remnants of an age past and even mechanical colossi built solely for the purpose of killing him.

For a while, it seemed Godzilla's hatred for mankind was assured and they were doomed to suffer under his wrath as punishment for their arrogance... until something happened. An egg was discovered. An egg that hatched into Godzilla's heir. Only, unlike the one who would later become his father, the Prince of Monsters (dubbed Godzilla Junior) was raised into a more kind and gentle side of humanity, unaware of the war waged between them and his father.

As time went on, Godzilla Junior would grow up along side his adoptive father, a child of two worlds. Sadly, Godzilla's journey came to a fiery end as he died at the hands of the very same power that brought him into the world after fighting his last enemy, birthed from the same weapon that killed him: Destoroyah.

But while Godzilla's journey ended, his son was left to carry on his legacy. For as one chapter ends... another begins.


	2. Prologue 2

Prologue 2

Princess Daiyara peered out from behind the pillar as she watched a royal guard pass by. The twelve-year-old heir to the Muan throne's blue eyes followed the armored man's every steps until the coast was clear. The pre-teen girl had a rather willowy body with her usually long, flowing brown hair held up in a bun dressed in a simple blue tunic with swirling purple highlights on the sleeves. She was barefoot as her soles were thicker than sandal bottoms due to years of walking around without shoes. She then motioned for her fellow cohorts... her two younger sisters. The middle sister, Salno, was a rather solemn-looking eleven-year-old with long hair that covered her left eye who wore a long robe which hid her legs and sleeves which hid her hands. The youngest was Mana, a cautious, ten-year-old girl with short hair that only came to her neck, small glasses and a similar tunic to her older sister but with pants and sandals. Like their elder sibling, Mana and Salno had tanned skin, blue eyes and brown hair.

"Um, Daiyara? You s-s-sure we should be out here?" Mana asked, her eyes darting left and right in case anyone else came walking their way. "What if Mama and Papa find out?"

Daiyara scoffed, "They're not gonna find out. Besides, I've got Nightmare on watch duty, if anyone comes along, we'll know."

"Nightmare's as reliable as a deaf Dragon Bat." Salno interjected in her deadpan voice.

Daiyara groaned at her sister's comment. "She's getting better and standing guard okay? At least better than she was as a pup."

With that, the three sisters snuck their way into the ruins. However, just as Salno and Daiyara were at the door, Mana had stopped in her tracks. "I _really_ think we should be getting back to the palace right about now, Dai."

Daiyara groaned at her sister's cowardly nature. "Mana, for once, have a sense of adventure." Mana fidgeted for a little bit before sighing, "Okay." Once that was out of the way, the three royal sisters began their trek into the depths of a large, vine covered structure, as it grew darker and darker, Daiyara pulled out a light crystal and held in her left hand, letting its ocean blue glow illuminate their path.

"Well, that's far enough, let's get home." Mana cried out rather quickly before running off... only to get pulled back by Salno. Once they were deep inside the facility, Daiyara set the light crystal down and the three gazed at the interior of a building from Mu's ancient past. "Well, pretty cool, right?" Daiyara snidely asked.

Salno shrugged, "Eh, it could be a little bit better."

Daiyara's shoulders slumped and she gave her sister a "seriously?" face. "Is it _really_ that hard for you to find anything interesting or is excitement just a foreign concept to you?"

"What's so interesting about exploring an old building that's been gathering dust since the Cataclysm?"

"It's part of history, Sal," Daiyara groaned, knowing she would have to be telling her middle sister this for the fifth time, "We're going to ascend to the throne eventually, don't you think we could at least learn about parts of the city left to gather dust in the first place?"

Salno shrugged wordlessly and looked around the illuminated room. Just then, she spotted something sticking out in the corner and headed towards it in a rare moment of curiosity. Meanwhile, Daiyara began wiping off what seemed like a thousand years of dust from an elevated platform the size of the royal feasting table. She then noticed a port for a control crystal. Granted it was somewhat primitive but, considering the advancements in Muan technology even after one thousand years, the only thing left unchanged were crystal ports. Salno walked up next to her and handed her sister what she found in the corner: a knowledge crystal. "Maybe this might help."

Daiyara took it from Salno and fit it into the circular port. There was a small humming noise and a tiny little dot of light appeared in the center. Daiyara turned it and the glow inside spread out into multiple constellation-like shapes, two of which Daiyara recognized as Mothra and the one responsible for the sinking of Mu, Battra. She also noticed another shape. It was a somewhat angular light picture of a dragon with a rather humanoid look to it, long wings sprouting from its back, a bladed tail and a shadowy mane running down its back.

 _Kagejotei? What's Kagejotei or, for that matter, the Kage Umare doing on an information crystal? Aren't they supposed to be a story meant to scare children?_ Daiyara thought to herself. "Salno, are you sure you didn't grab a story crystal by mistake?"

"No, that can't be right," Mana interjected, "The way it's presented is almost... like something out of history."

Daiyara was about to ask something when a large shadow appeared behind them. The girls turned around and screamed at the sight of a stern-faced man... their uncle.

"There you three are." Malak said, his arms crossed. If it weren't for the lack of a goatie and a somewhat scrawnier build, he would've have looked almost identical to their father. "Your parents have been looking all over for you. Oh, and Daiyara, it's not very fair to put Nightmare on guard duty especially for her if she's more interested in following you."

"Right, Uncle Malak." the princesses replied at once.

Malak then decided to give his three nieces mercy. "Don't worry, I'll just tell your parents you were playing outside. Now, let's get you home." He then walked over and turned off the information crystal and the images vanished.

"Uncle Malak?" Daiyara asked, " _are_ the Kage Umare really just a legend?"

Malak sighed at his eldest niece's question, as though he were thinking about the answer. "Sometimes, Daiyara, the people of Mu _wish_ they were just a legend."


	3. Prologue 3

Prologue 3

The leviathan had no idea where he was going. As the storm raged above on the surface of the sea, the beast calmly allowed the tides to carry him to parts unknown. That was what he was reduced to after all those years, following the tides of the water to wherever they led him. He shared the same body as his father (with a few physical differences) before him but in mind, he was his father's polar opposite. Due to being raised alongside humans, he had grown to see the loving, caring side of them. In fact, one of them, he considered his mother.

Just then, he saw movement from the corner of his enormous eye. At first, it could have been just a fish or even a baby whale not yet big enough to even be a snack. However, as he turned his head upwards to get a better look, he noticed it wasn't any of those things. Slowly, the leviathan began to ascend, his curiousity turning into desperation as he swam up to the floating human boy.

 _Five Minutes Earlier_

"Mayday, mayday! This is the S.S. _Ryumaru_!" Kazuo Okamara screamed into the radio phone, his rain coat succumbing to the very thing it was supposed to keep out while his wife Naomi worked to secure everything on the boat, stumbling each time a wave crashed into the starboards with their six-year-old son Akio held on for dear life.

"Coast to _Ryumaru_ , what is your situation?" a male voice crackled from the radio.

"We are currently caught in Typhoon Kitamura, forty-five degrees latitude, sixty-five degrees longit-AH!" A sudden jolt knocked Kazuo off his feet and a loud pop followed by sharp pain in his left arm indicated either a loosened or dislocated joint.

"Come again, _Ryumaru_ , are you still there?" the radio speaker asked as Kazuo rose to his feet, clutching his arm in pain. Before he could reach the radio, he heard Naomi cry out something in distress and he rushed to her. He could see her wildly searching for something in desperation before she whipped around and shouted three words he never wanted to hear as a parent.

" _Akio fell overboard_!"

Fearing his son was gone forever, Kazuo and Naomi cried out their son's name, hoping the crashing waves, torrential rains and booming thunder wouldn't drown out their cries. What had started out as a routine fishing trip with his wife and child, had suddenly transformed into a father's worst nightmare.

 _Now_

Akio cried out to his parents as his father's ship drifted farther and farther away from him. Sadly, the young boy's screams were swallowed up by the much larger sounds of the crashing, angry waves. He then whimpered as he held tightly to his life jacket, remembering his teacher's words about sharks lived this far out at sea. He just _knew_ one would find him tasty and want to have him for an evening snack. As he frightfully gazed out into the angry waters, his heart jumped at what he thought was a triangular shaped fin. Just then, Akio felt as though a large wave began lifting him up. It took him only a few minutes to realize he wasn't falling down in a crash of water as the last thing he saw before exhaustion overtook him were four enormous claws.

Back on shore, Kazuo helped the sobbing Naomi into their house. The power was long since knocked out by the storm. "We have to go back! He could still be out there!" she screamed. Naomi rushed for the door only to be pulled back by her husband. "The storm's too dangerous to do anything right now, Naomi!" Kazuo told her as he shook her as means to make her see reason. He then noticed the heartbroken expression on her face and tried to hold back his own tears.

"We'll search for him when the storm's passed. I'm sorry, Naomi, but you and I know there's nothing we can do right now except hope he's okay." Kazuo explained, even though deep down, it was a fleeting hope. Just then Naomi's eyes and ears perked up at a sound outside. "What was that?"

She then rushed out of his arms, forcing Kazuo to run after his wife only to hear her scream.

Then he noticed what she was screaming about. There, standing on the beach in a daze was Akio, safe and sound with not even one scratch on him. Smiling and shedding tears of joy, both parents ran forward and hugged their son.

However, while his parents stood there embracing him, Akio's eyes stood focused on the three rows of maple-leaf shaped spikes belonging to the one who saved him before they disappeared beneath the waves like a mirage.

"Bye-bye, Godzilla." he quietly told the departing spikes.

Author's notes:

Yes, I had Godzilla Junior save a kid. No, Godzilla's not gonna be like Gamera in this story. If anything, he's gonna be more akin to the late Showa-Era Godzilla as to set him apart from his father though his hero status is gonna be one he has to _earn_. But that being said, the prologues are over. Now the story can truly begin.


	4. Chapter 1: Tokyo, 18 years later

Chapter 1:

Tokyo, 18 Years Later (Hisshin)

"Hey, Gojo~!"

Hisshin Gojo groaned at the sing-song tone the school's pathetic excuse of a bully Tako Mishima. He turned around only to have an apple bounce off him. This was then followed by the teenager raising his eyes toward the one who threw it, another apple in his left hand.

"Wanna snack?" the bespectacled eighteen-year-old snickered. Tako was the poor man's delinquent, always picking fights with those either twice his size and twice his mass or those who obviously were the kinds of people bullies or even hardened tough guys would want to mess with. One could say he was like a chihuahua, but even a chihuahua would know when to not pick a fight with a guy who could put him in the hospital. Tako was just dumb. Plain and simple.

"Mishima, really? The last day of school and that's the best you've got? An apple?" Hisshin asked unimpressed.

"Still hungry? How 'bout another one?" Tako snided, ignoring his question as he threw his apple at Hisshin's face with much more force... only for the apple to stop inches away from his face while the one who threw it rose into the air much to his confusion. Hisshin then took the apple floating in front of him, cleaned it on his shirt and took a bite, finding it suprisingly crisp and sweet with a hint of tartness, his favorite qualities in Nature's toothbrush. "Hmm, not a bad choice, Tako. Not bad at all."

"This isn't funny, Gojo, knock it off." Tako whined/demanded, his face comically scrunched up into a pout. Hisshin shrugged, "I dunno what you're talking about, Mishima, I'm not the one doing it." He then noticed someone walking up from behind him. "Though, _she_ might have something to do with your little... conumdrum."

Tako was then rotated around to be face-to-face with Mayumi Saegusa, an eighteen-year-old girl with half-crescent moon glasses, short, cropped black hair and hard brown eyes. From her attire she had just came out from psychic school.

"Trying to be one of the big boys, Mishima? When are you ever gonna learn?" she snided, putting her hands on her hips and raising an eyebrow. This caused Tako's face to turn cherry-red in a frown.

"When I get down from here, I'm gonna-!"

It was at that moment, Mayumi turned him upside down, "Get a mind rape for all your troubles. You're lucky I'm just holding back. But just in case..."

Mayumi pressed her hand against Tako's forehead, closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she did this, Tako's eyes went dull as though his brain really did stop functioning for a second until the younger Saegusa's eyes snapped open and she gently rotated the wannabe-delinquent and set him on the ground. She then leaned forward and began to speak in a faux-saccharine tone.

"Oh, Tako~, be a dear and scurry on home, okay? We'll probably see ya next semester."

With that, Tako returned to his normal state before saying, "See ya next year... maybe." As he walked off, Hisshin gave his friend a weirded out look. "Y'know, Mayumi- _chan_ , somedays you scare me." he told her. Mayumi shrugged, "Eh, I was just waiting for my mom and you kinda looked like you needed help."

Hisshin scoffed, "Help? With Tako? Please. A four-year-old could intimidate him."

"Okay, now you're just exaggerating."

"No, seriously, I saw him get scared because a four-year-old kid frowned at him at the park for trying to take his place on the swingset. The guy's a wimp."

"He's just like all other bullies. He can't take it." Mayumi shrugged. Just then, she heard the sound of a car honk and noticed a black car with orange highlights drive up to the curb.

"Well, that's my mom. Gotta go. Catch ya another time, Hisshin!" With that, Mayumi rushed off to meet with her mother, Miki Saegusa. As Hisshin waved back to her, it was there he heard the sound of a... jet engine.

 _Oh please, no._ he thought. _He wouldn't_ dare _bring it here. Not today. Please let it be Mom._

"Ready to head out, son?"

Hisshin inwardly groaned, recognizing his father Kazuma's voice. He turned around to notice his dad sitting on what could only be described as a robotic _Pteranodon_. Yes. He did bring it here. It was a much more advanced model than the one he built back in 1994 but still, was it really necessary? What was wrong with a car?

"Dad, why did you have to bring the Pterosoarer?" Hisshin asked. Kazuma raised an eyebrow. "Come on, you used to love riding this thing as a kid. Remember how I would take you and your mom out for night rides? You got a kick out of that."

"Yeah," Hisshin muttered, "When I was _six_."

Kazuma gave his son a puppy-dog face. At that moment, Hisshin groaned. _Dad, you're a man in your late thirties, do you_ really _have to resort to the puppy pout?_ Kazuma then decided to look at his finger nails. "Your mother couldn't be here because she's at the store picking up dinner and it is a _long_ way home."

Sighing to himself at the realization he had no other choice, Hisshin grabbed a helmet and sat behind his father with a sullen look on his face while Kazuma smiled and started to rev up the motor. "Six weeks of no school for you and six weeks of vacation for me and your mom, trust me, Hisshin, I promise this is gonna be the best Summer you've ever had!" the former Aoki told him while the Pterosoarer began its ascent. As for Hisshin, he was starting to wonder what life would be like if the Gojo household was a normal family and not one where he was the younger brother of a twenty-story tall, Cherenkov Radiation spewing dinosaur.


	5. Chapter 2: Site Omega

Chapter 2:

Site Omega

 _Here come the rookies_. Koji Saegusa thought to himself as he watched the new recruits line up single file. They were rather young, some of them as old as his daughter Mayumi. Internally he sighed. It just wasn't the same ever since Team M.O.G.U.E.R.A. split up what with Yuki being discharged in 1995 due to disobeying a commanding officer during the whole SpaceGodzilla fiasco before he hitched with Chinatsu Gondo and moved to the Phillipines and Kiyoshi Sato going through an early retirement on the regards of him having "just about enough with giant lizards", ironic considering he told Godzilla he had a "score to settle with him".

"Hey, Saegusa, you gonna say something or what?"

Startled from his recollections, Koji turned to see his lieutenant, Shō Kuroki, former pilot of the Super X-III and survivor of two encounters with Godzilla back in 1990 and 1996. Realizing he spaced out, he turned to the new cadets and folding his hands behind his back.

"I know what you're probably thinking," he stated as he paced, "'I've been training my ass off for nine, hard, grueling weeks, enduring bruises, insults and attacks on my pride just so I can join the ranks of people who went up against Kaiju the likes of Godzilla, King Ghidorah, SpaceGodzilla, Destoroyah and any other city-trashing sonuvabitch that came crawling out of the woodworks and leave my mark as a hero'. If so, then I'm _sorry_ to tell you this, but being a part of the UNGCC doesn't mean you get to be a hero by shooting a giant monster in the nose. You need to _really_ know what it's like to be face-to-face with the Kaiju. So, as part of any orientation of fresh cadets, I'm gonna take you all for a little field trip."

With that, the floor made a sudden lurch, startling the rookies as it slowly began to descend. Once it came to a stop, the recruits realized they were in a large facility with enormous glass cases like one would see in an aquarium on either side, some of them larger than the others.

"Welcome to Site Omega!" Kuroki dramatically announced causing Koji to look at him weird, eliciting an innocent "what?" look.

"Yes, this is Site Omega. Our containment center for any Kaiju not driven off or (ahem) having resisted arrest." Koji informed them as he led the recruits down to look at the "inmates". One of the recruits, a rather young one named Katsunori Kazama stopped and stared at one of the containment cells thinking he saw movement from the corner of his eye... only to have a pair of dirty red jaws lined with razor-sharp fangs spring out from the corner and snap at him from behind the glass. With a yell, Kazama stumbled back, attracting notice from Koji.

"I see you've met Baragon. Yeah, he's a mean little sucker ain't he?"

As he said that, the recruit managed to get a good look at the entrapped Kaiju and, jolt scare aside, he was rather... unimpressive. For one thing this monster was rather small for a Kaiju, only about thirty meters in height and thirty-five meters long from his head to his short tail. His skin was rusty-red in color with strange ridges on his back. His front feet were each tipped with long claws, giving the impression he was a subterranean monster. Baragon's head was somewhat box-shaped with big red eyes, a single glowing horn sticking out from his forehead that curled upward and a pair of floppy, roughly c-shaped ears like an elephant. He looked like a giant puppy; a giant, reptilian puppy.

"Yeah, we got him when he was tearing up Paris along with Gorosaurus." Koji continued pointing to a cell to his right. The recruits followed his finger to a giant Allosaurus-like Kaiju with grayish-blue scales that would sometimes flash with a greenish tint and triangular plates running down from where his neck met his head to the very end of his spiked tail. Judging from the way "Gorosaurus" was glaring at Baragon, it was very clear they had a history, further implied by the present scars on the left side of his neck and chest which looked suspiciously like claw-marks.

The Kaiju in the cell next to Baragon swooped down as though to see what the commotion was all about, and it looked rather familiar.

"This lovely lady happens to be Rodan. Found her ripping apart Saint Peter's Cathedral in Moscow before we brought her down." Koji informed them as the pterosaur Kaiju glared at the new humans. One of the recruits, Katsuo Yamabe, rose his hand. When Koji pointed to him.

"Sir, wasn't Rodan killed by the first MechaGodzilla in 1994?" he asked. The recruit next to him, one Gorou Rinsaku leaned in and whispered in his ear, "That was _Radon,_ Stupid, not _Rodan_."

True enough, despite sharing attributes of the pteranodon Kaiju that appeared in 1994 such as the armored/spiked chest and avian features, Rodan was completely different than her predecessor. For one thing, she had a somewhat shorter-looking black beak, red and yellow scales much like Radon's "fire form", a v-shaped crest and a tail resembling more of a flat fin rather than a longer one like her late counterpart. She also had mint-green eyes which glared at the humans.

The containment cell in front of her held a rather stocky-looking beast. It resembled a cross between an armadillo, an ankylosaur, a _Styracosaurus_ and a rhinoceros. Its carapace was covered in long porcupine-like quills which curved forwards, with some of them looking as though they had been chipped off. Its long tail bristled with smaller-looking quills all ending in a spiked club. Its crocodilian head had seven horns like that of a crown, with the middle horn's tip broken off, and one on its snout, giving it a rather intimidating appearance.

"This handsome fella is who we like to call Anguirus. He... kinda had an encounter with the current Godzilla back in 2001 at Osaka." Koji explained pointing to what looked like a large burn scar on his belly. Anguirus, as though he could hear his warden, let out a honking bark before skulking off.

"Um, Maj. Shinjo?" a female rookie, one Saeko Kaneshiro, asked, "Shouldn't we be worried if any of the Kaiju manage to break through the glass?"

Koji shook his head, "No need to worry. The casing on each containment is one hundred square inches of synthetic diamond. The Kaiju ain't going anywhere."

As the tour went on, the rookies had gotten a good glimpse at the Kaiju such as Kumonga, a gigantic brown and yellow spider with traits similar to a spitting spider (due to the placement of her spinnerets), a jumping spider, a wolf spider and a tarantula, Manda; a Kaiju resembling a classic Japanese _Ryu,_ Sanda and Gaira; a pair of brown and green hominid Kaiju who had to be kept separated from each other and Janmuto and Femuto; two enormous, arthropod-like creatures who were nearly identical due to sharing similar traits such as glowing composite eyes, jet-black bodies and a pair of manipulator limbs on their torsos which ended in scythe-like single claws (although Janmuto was smaller and had wings while Femuto was much larger and had an extra pair of legs) who also happened to be the second case of Kaiju sharing a cell; the others being Zilla (a theropod-like Kaiju with reverse shark fin-like plates on its back) and Komodithrax (an enormous Komodo Dragon). Finally, the recruits came to the last containment cell... one that was much larger than the others and seemed to be filled with water.

"This, happens to be the inclusion to our menagerie," Koji announced as he stopped in front of the tank, "We call her Mosa, easily one of, if not _the_ , biggest Kaiju to be discovered; three times the size of Biollante."

The recruits looked at the containment tank but could only see three things: water, water and... more water. Koji seemed to notice this and pulled out a walkie-talkie. "Hey, Shiro, I think it's Mosa's feeding time."

As immediately as he said that, a giant mechanical crane carrying an enormous octopus, much bigger than any recorded, wheeled into view on a rail. It lowered only a few feet above the opening of the tank as the octopus squirmed and wriggled, trying to break free as though it knew what was going to happen to it.

For a while, nothing seemed to happen... until a massive pair of crocodilian jaws, big enough to swallow Godzilla whole surged upwards and breached the surface. The jaws snapped the octopus with the force of a freight train crashing before disappearing beneath the water. It was there, the rookies got a good look at the world's largest Kaiju.

Mosa resembled a long extinct _Mosasaurus_ with a few differences. For one thing, she was enormous, Koji was not kidding when he said she was the biggest Kaiju ever recorded. Her head alone was easily the length of Godzilla from head-to-tail. She had blue and white scales which seemed to give her camoflage. Then there were her fins. Her hind flippers looked like rudimentary feet with clawed toes while her hind-limbs were a pair of human-like arms ending in finned claws.

As she finished thrashing her meal around, Mosa noticed the humans standing in front of her and seemed to glare directly at them.

"Anyone else feel like they're suddenly on the menu?" Kazama asked nervously as he noticed the mosasaur Kaiju's gaze seemed to be glued to him.

Koji shrugged, "Well, she's only been here for a few days and I'd be pretty mad if I were stuck behind hundreds of inches of artificial diamond and having to see my captors 24/7. Anyway, let's keep moving."

With that, the group continued following Koji as Kazama slowly walked away from Mosa's tank, her eyes continuing to follow him.


	6. Chapter 3: Sisters

Chapter 3:

Sisters

Mana closed her eyes and took in several deep breaths as she stood in front of a large circular pool, the glow from the light crystals reflecting off its placid surface with nary even a ripple as though it were simply a circle of glass. The youngest daughter of Emperor Namurak and Empress Kylaa then began to go to work.

"Okay," she whispered to herself, her quiet voice barely an echo, "Block out all sounds around you. Concentration is key."

She shifted her left leg forward into a strong stance.

"Perfect posture."

She breathed in slowly and calmly.

"Deep breaths. And... begin."

She slowly flicked her wrists, hearing the sound of the gems on her bridal gauntlets giving a humming glow. Mana made another movement and she could hear the sound of water rising from the pool. She envisioned the water, held in place by the energy that was her namesake and started with something simple, allowing the very lifeforce of the world itself to be her eyes and ears as she shaped the fluid into a ball. Mana slightly opened one eye to see the orb made of liquid floating in mid-air like a glass ball with only slight ripples to give away its fluid nature.

"So far so good." she muttered to herself as she closed her eye and started with some basic, beginner's moves such as splitting the ball into smaller ones and letting them spin around her like the planets moving around the sun. Then she went with something much more complicated and flattened the balls out into ribbons which swirled in the air until they merged back together.

"Stay focused." Mana told herself both as a chant and as an order, "Stay focused. Stay fo-"

"Whatcha up to, Sis?"

With a yelp, Mana's concentration was broken as her watery ball exploded like a rotten Kalira berry, drenching her from head-to-toe. She then frowned and turned to the source of the interruption. There, leaning against a pillar was Daiyara, having cast aside her ponytail from pre-teen years and letting her hair flow behind her. Next to her, in a dog-like pose was Nightmare, her pet Raia and Salno... just standing there.

 _Can't you handle_ one _day without bothering me?_ Mana growled in her thoughts, "Daiyara, Salno, what are you doing here?" She tried her best to keep her frustration at bay.

Daiyara shrugged, "I was taking Nightmare for a ride and got interested in what you were up to."

"I followed because I was bored." Salno answered in her deadpan voice.

"Salno bored?" Mana sarcastically muttered to herself, "That's new." She then shook her head and thought about what to tell her older sisters. "Look, I'm kinda busy right now, can you please go somewhere else?"

Daiyara then rose an eyebrow in interest. "What're ya up to first?"

"Getting ready for the Dance of Waves for the festival in a few days," Mana replied, "Something that requires concentration and _no. Distractions._ " The last two words she put enormous emphasis on just so her sister could get the message. Unfortunately, that was not the case as Daiyara immediately piqued in interest.

"Really? Anything me and Salno can do to help?"

Mana just stood dumbfounded at her sister. Did she just not get what she was trying to tell her? Hiding her frustration through a faux-sweet smile, she replied, "As a matter of fact, yes. You can-" Her voice rose a few octanes as she pointed to a corner sharply, her eyes narrowed behind her glasses, "STAND OVER THERE AND WAIT _QUIETLY_ UNTIL I'M DONE!"

Daiyara jumped back with a flinch and her hands forward. "Okay, fine, geez! Don't bite my head off!" Immediately, Daiyara and Salno walked over to the corner Mana was pointing at, with Daiyara leading Nightmare along with her.

 _Great, now I've got to start all over again_. Mana mentally muttered. She went through the original steps as before; starting out with a ball, separating it, turning the smaller spheres into ribbons only this time she got somewhat further as she flattened the bigger ball into a ribbon... only to have her concentration broken by the sound of howling. Nightmare's howling.

"Just thought you could use some ambience!" Daiyara told her. Mana responded... by flashing her sister a venomous glare conveying one simple message: Be. Quiet.

Daiyara turned to her wolf-like reptilian mount, "Um, I think that's enough, Girl." With that, the Raia stopped howling. Now, with all distractions taken care of (hopefully), Mana started all over... again. This time, she got much further, going beyond the initial steps and creating a vast array of shapes all sculpted from water. Then she began to wave and move her arms to and fro, spinning around on her sandalled feet, allowing the liquid to swirl around her before dispersing. It was as though the water was now a part of her, an extension of her body, of her soul, of her very being. However, just as she was about to perform the grand finale-

"Way to go, Mana! You've got this in the bag!" Daiyara's clapping and loud voice shattered her concentration like glass and the water came crashing down with a loud _splash_ , leaving Mana, once again, soaked. _Alright,_ she thought as her anger reached boiling point, _that. Is. IT!_

"DAIYARA _,_ " she exploded, "THIS IS NOT AS EASY AS IT LOOKS SO, UNLESS YOU THINK YOU CAN DO BETTER, I WOULD _REALLY_ APPRECIATE IT IF YOU KEPT QUIET! OKAY!?"

For a moment there was silence, until Daiyara gave her a determined look. "You just _had_ to say that." Salno groaned, rolling her eyes as her eldest sister smirked confidentally and walked barefoot towards her younger sister.

"I'll take that as a challenge. How hard can it be?" she smugly asked, shoving her face in her sister's.

Mana smirked at this, "You _really_ want me to answer that?" She pulled off her gauntlets and handed them to her sister. "By all means, be my guest."

Daiyara scoffed and swiped the gauntlets from her sister, slipping them on and walking over to the pool. She assumed the same stance as Mana when she started and began by raising a ball of water.

"Oooooh," Daiyara moaned sarcastically, "This is _soooo_ hard!"

Mana crossed her arms in front of her chest, her smug grin still plastered on her face. "Why don't you keep going? Show us some moves."

The eldest daughter of the Muan throne scoffed. _Piece of Valda_. She then began to perform some movements much like Mana... except whereas her youngest sibling's motions were smooth and fluid as the water she was controlling, Daiyara's motions were about as smooth as the shell of a Rock Turtle. Despite all this, she finally managed to get her ribbons back into a ball... which exploded right in her face, drenching her from head-to-toe. As she stood there, dripping with water, Mana walked up next to her, a smug grin on her face and held out her hand. Daiyara tore the gauntlets off and slapped them into the open hand.

"I'll go wait in the corner." she muttered, walking off to rejoin Salno and Nightmare. Once she was there, Mana began practicing for a third time.

"Wow," Salno commented, a hint of snark in her monotone, "talk about a stab to your pride."

"Salno? _Shut it_."


	7. Chapter 4: Life at Home

Chapter 4:

Life at Home

"So, how was school today?" Kazuma asked Hisshin as Azusa set the dishes down in the center of the table just as himself, his son and his mother and Hisshin's fraternal grandmother Mariko took their seats.

"It was... interesting." Hisshin answered before moving his arm to allow his mother to set the bowl of freshly boiled _udon_ on the table.

"Interesting in what way?" Azusa asked as she sat down. Even in her late thirties, Azusa was still rather attractive, her appearance having gone through little changes aside from a more worn-down face and strands of gray hair one could point out by squinting just a tad.

"We talked about Godzilla in class today." Hisshin responded.

"Which one?" Azusa asked, raising an eyebrow. "The one from 1954 or your brother?"

Hisshin sighed. She always had to ask that question regarding Godzilla. "The one from '54." he replied, "Y'know, the one who turned Tokyo into a parking lot and terrorized Japan until-" Hisshin paused as he thought about the words, "'96." he added softly.

Azusa nodded as she placed _udon_ on her plate with her chopsticks, followed by the rest of the Gojo-Aoki family. The family members placed their hands together before announcing at once, " _Itadakimasu_."

"You hypnotized him!?" Miki asked increduously as Mayumi was about to put another piece of _yakitori_ beef in her mouth. Mayumi rolled her eyes, "It was just Mishima." Miki was still unconvinced, "You _hypnotized_ him!"

Mayumi sighed, "He was bugging Hisshin and I got him to stop. I didn't wipe his mind entirely." With that she put her piece of cooked, skewered, marinated cow flesh into her mouth. Miki groaned and turned to her father who was currently watching the NHK on their TV.

"Koji, could you come over here and talk to your daughter, please?"

Koji sighed before muting the TV and walked into the dining room. "What happened this time?"

"Your daughter hypnotized someone."

Mayumi cut in, "I hypnotized Tako Mishima when he was bothering Hisshin."

"Hypnosis?" Koji asked, interested, "That's neat." He turned to Miki, who currently had her arms folded and a disapproving look on her face. "But totally uncalled for, Mayumi, you should know better."

Mayumi groaned, "Okay, what is the point of even having psychic powers if I'm not allowed to use them in the first place?"

Miki shook her head, "Mayumi, you just need to learn how to use them responsibly-"

"And by 'responsibly' you mean supress them, right?" Mayumi snarkily interrupted, receiving a glare from her mother, instantly shutting her up.

"No, 'responsibly' as in not use them willy-nilly. Which is why, starting next week, we are going to be doing some Summer home schooling."

Mayumi felt her heart skip a beat as she tried to register what her mother had told her. "You. Have. Got. To. Be. Kidding. Me."

"Nope. Don't worry, Mayumi, you and I are going to have a great time together." Miki exclaimed.

Mayumi sighed as she picked up another piece of beef, only this time, the taste was less than appetizing.

She had traveled far from her island home in search of where he had last fallen. Her enormous wings held her mammoth body aloft as her blue eyes scanned the glass-black night sea reflecting her golden glow. A great threat was coming, one from her past as well as his. As much as she wanted to respect the dead, time was of the essence and she needed all the help she could find... even if it meant raising the departed. Just then, she could feel the aura of something. It was faint but it was there. With a chirp, she set off in that direction.

"Alright, one last haul in and we're turning back!" Takashi Fukunaga told his fellow fishermen as they lowered an entire net filled to the brim with flopping yellowfin onto the deck of the _Pichi_. The middle-aged angler wiped the sweat from his brow as he looked out upon the calm, mirror-like surface of the ocean. Godzilla hadn't been seen in quite a while, the last time being in 2004, so he and other fishermen such as him didn't need to worry about a run-in with the Kaiju. Not that he was concerned anyway, this Godzilla was far different than the one who destroyed Tokyo from 1954 all the way up to '96. However, the world's governments, being ever-so paranoid, saw him as a threat to humanity. But it didn't matter to Fukunaga, all he cared about was the amount of yen he was going to fetch with this haul.

"Captain! Look over there!" one of his sailors called out pointing to something approaching from the south.

Fukunaga sighed and followed the sailor's finger... just in time to see a bright glow as gold as the sun headed straight for them at great speed. The crew of the _Pichi_ ducked down as a massive winged object soared high above them, a strange whistling noise trailing past it.

Fukunaga popped his head up and watched the UFO fly off into the horizon. _Mothra ?_ he thought, _What's she doing out here?_

Mothra banked over to where he had last fallen. She then began to hover above the water, her slow wingbeats stirring up small waves. She then let out a chirp and the golden aura covering her dispersed and began to trickle down into the depths, illuminating even areas where light could never touch until finally it came across what it was intended for.

Even after all those years, he was perfectly preserved, not even showing an ounce of decay. The gold energy seeped into the cracks and crannies of his armored body, healing wounds from long ago. The creature's eyes glowed a fiery red as life returned to him and he hoisted himself up on his six, clawed legs. Raising his burning gaze, the Kaiju spread his wings and shot himself toward the surface like a rocket, the water's resistance hardly even noticeable. Then, as he broke through the surface, he let out a powerful screech that pierced the night; a signal that Battra was reborn.

As Mothra and Battra circled through the air, a hawk-sized butterfly bore witness to the event from a far distance.

"The first step is completed." one of its riders, a woman only a foot tall, garbed in a red dress commented.

"Yes, but will he be enough?" her identical sister asked, concern in her voice.

"No, there is still much to be done, sister. We must hurry. Time is no longer our ally."


	8. Chapter 5: The Festival

Chapter 5:

The Festival

"Princess Daiyara, please!" begged Tanira, one of the royal ladies in waiting as well as the youngest (being only nineteen years of age), as she tried to catch the eldest child of her emperor and empress, a pair of silver sandals in her hand. The child in question, was currently leaping and twirling with a mischevous grin. While she was wearing a traditional robe used for special occasions, she was still barefoot. "Princess, put your sandals on, please!"

Daiyara stopped for a moment as she sat down and pondered for a moment. "Considering I never grew up _wearing_ shoes in the first place, why should I do it today?"

Tanira sighed, "Because it's a special occasion, milady. You can at least wear them for the night."

"Okay, I'll wear them-" Daiyara told the youngest lady-in-waiting before flashing her a sly grin, "If you can catch me."

Tanira groaned as Daiyara leapt gracefully away from her. Even after all those years of growing up, she _still_ caused trouble for her. As this was going on, Salno leaned next to a pillar watching her sister make a fool out of their youngest maid, dressed in a robe with swirling purple and gold patterns. "Dai, just put the stupid sandals on and cut Tanira some slack for once. I really don't want to keep Mom and Dad waiting."

"Thank you, Princess Salno," Tanira paused before bowing to the middle daughter of the royal family, "Princess Daiyara, come back!"

Daiyara ignored her and let out a mischevous giggle as she dodged the lady-in-waiting, unaware Nightmare was currently sleeping and disturbed by her mistress's shenanigans. She stuck her tail in front of her rider's ankle, causing her to trip and lose her balance. Daiyara shot her Raia an angry look. Before she could say anything, she heard Tanira clear her throat and looked up, noticing she had her arms crossed, sandals in her left hand and was looking down at her with a stern expression. The eldest princess groaned in defeat, "Okay, _fine_! I'll put them on." This earned Tanira a smirk of victory as Daiyara inserted her feet into the sandals, tapping them to make sure they were secured.

"Can we _please_ get going now?" Salno asked, a slight inflection to her otherwise droning, monotone voice. "We've kept Mom and Dad waiting for too long and I don't want to miss Mana's dance."

Daiyara sighed, "Alright." She then turned to Tanira, "Tanira, can you please watch over Nightmare for me?" With that she walked out, leaving the lady-in-waiting to stand alone... with the purple and black Raia who had just woken up and giving her a smirk... or at least the best a reptilian wolf could give. "H-hi, Girl." she squeaked.

Daiyara grumbled to herself as she tried to walk in her sandals. In a few minutes, both princesses arrived to the thrones, two of which were taken up by their mother and father. Their mother, Empress Kylaa, was a rather dignified, beautiful woman with barely a gray strand of hair among her long brown ones, gentle blue eyes and hardly recognizable wrinkles on her face. On her left sat their father, Emperor Namurak; a strong man with a stubble of brown hair on his chin and an equally dignified gaze as his wife. In Kylaa's arms, the baby Prince Rigen, the youngest of the royal siblings was nestled in his mother's arms asleep while Malak stood by his brother's side. As Daiyara and Salno took their seats, Kylaa and Namurak looked at their daughters with confused faces.

"Dai was giving Tanira a hard time... again." Salno interjected, pointing her thumb at her older sister.

Kylaa shook her head and sighed while Namurak gave his eldest child a disapproving, flat stare as if asking "really"?

Just then, a gong rang out as Malak addressed the gathered crowd in the enormous city circle.

"People of Mu, before we can begin the festivities, let us first bear witness the annual Dance of the Waves, headed by our very own Princess Mana!"

As if on cue, a single-file line of girls, dressed in multi-colored tunics and slipper shoes walked into view, flanked by a handful of musicians. Among them, was Mana as the girls lined up in a row. Once the music started playing, the girls carried out the motions Mana was practicing a few days earlier in synch, their motions and movements matching up with the drums and flutes identically as the water swirled and molded above them.

Kylaa and Namurak watched in pride, Salno; in surprising interest and Daiyara just stood in awe and jealousy as her sister was allowed to carry out the same movements as before. She just made it look so... _easy_. Once it was over, the girls took their bows and dispersed, Mana joining her family and sitting next to Salno. Namurak rose from his throne amidst the applause and silenced the crowd. "Let the festivities begin!" he announced, his throaty voice echoed.

Music, songs and laughter filled the city circle while wafts of fresh, sweet smelling valda cakes and sizzling, mouthwatering gronk steaks cooking over fires presented a feast to the nostrils. In Kylaa's arms, Rigen moaned and began to stir. His mother looked down at her youngest and smiled. "Did Daddy wake you up, sweetie?" she cooed. Rigen answered in gurgling gibberish; baby-talk for "yes"... probably as his mother gave him a kiss on the forehead. Daiyara was currently sharing a steak with Nightmare who had arrived with a frazzled Tanira who decided to go straight to bed as opposed to join the festival. Mana and Salno were currently dancing to the music (well Mana was, Salno was just slightly bobbing).

Just then, a hush drifted over the festival as an old man walked into the circle, the only sound being made was that of his cane. He was a wizened Muan, with long white hair and distant, pale eyes hinting at a loss of sight he had suffered long ago. Soldo, the story-teller had arrived. He first began by coughing from his old lungs before speaking in his surprisingly strong voice.

"It is best to remember how far an empire can fall, than the easy way out and forgetting what led to its end." he began, reaching for something behind him. That something being a story crystal. "Such is the way of Mu."


	9. Chapter 6: Revelation

Chapter 6:

Revelation

The hushed crowd watched as Soldo placed the story crystal into the center of the ground and turned it. Almost immediately, the entire circle was engulfed in lights and moving dots like clusters of constellations. Soldo then began to narrate.

"In the Golden Age, there existed four powerful empires whose domains encompassed the seas; Nilai Kanai, Atlantis, Seatopia and Mu. Each empire was mightier than the last."

Four clusters of dots merged together to roughly shape the forms of each respective empire, the largest being Atlantis, the second being Mu, then Nilai Kanai and finally Seatopia.

"However, over time, the empires dwindled away. First was Atlantis, struck down by a fierce cataclysm while Seatopia fell to her sister city Nilai Kanai in a brutal war. By that time, only Mu and Nilai Kanai were left standing."

In synch with Soldo's words, the clusters representing Atlantis and Seatopia disappeared, a symbolic display of how two empires fell and were claimed by the sea that birthed them while the clusters of Nilai Kanai and Mu remained.

"When Nilai Kanai had set its sights on Mu, war between both nations seemed inevitable."

Clusters shaped into human figures garbed in armor appeared, each soldier in rows upon rows, ready to fight each other to the very death.

"However, fate had other plans. For just as the first battle was about to take place, a far greater threat to both empires emerged from the island nation of Nippon, attracted to the unrest and bloodlust... The Kage Umare."

Almost immediately upon saying those words, giant light clusters resembling enormous animals with skulls for faces appeared, sending the soldiers of Mu and Nilai Kanai into a panic as they were helpless against these new titanic foes. Just then a constellation of an enormous dragon with wings going on for miles and a mane made of amorphous shapes rose above the chaos.

"The worst of them all... was Kagejotei, the Shadow Queen."

The constellation of Kagejotei's mane then spread out from behind its back, engulfing the cluster of Nilai Kanai.

"With her mane of shadows, she obliterated Nilai Kanai, having sucked her dry of her Mana and leaving her to join her fellow empires at the bottom of the sea. Then... she turned her attention toward Mu."

It then showed constellations of Kagejotei and her fellow Kage Umare advancing on the cluster of Mu. However, just as they were about to close in, a pair of winged light clusters intercepted them.

"But in Mu's darkest hour, Mothra and Battra, Earth's very guardians, rose to the last sea empire's aid, driving back the Shadow Queen and her armies. Though they could not kill her, they managed to lock her away, reclaiming the Mana she stole."

Soldo's voice then took a much darker tone, "Sadly, Mu's story did not have a happy ending. For her emperor at the time became arrogant, believing he was at the Earth's favor and had constructed a machine, capable of bending the very forces of Nature to his whim."

The clusters shifted together into the form of a monstrous device twice the size of the royal palace with a man garbed in what were supposedly royal garments in front of it. Clusters representing storm clouds began to gather only to scatter with the arrival of Battra.

"And it was because of this arrogance... that Mu was the last to be swallowed up by the oceans which birthed her."

The cluster of Mu faded away into nothing as Battra laid siege to it before Mothra's cluster swooped in and collided into her brother. The light then reverted back into the crystal which Soldo picked up. The elder Muan turned his attention to the gathered crowd.

"It was arrogance that led to Mu's downfall in the past. And it will be arrogance that keeps Mu beneath the waves... unless the next heir to the throne wishes not to repeat the mistakes of the past."

He turned his wizened gaze to Daiyara as if to add a point.

"Oh, please, oldtimer! All that story proves is to glorify Battra!" a snide Muan piped up, "We all know Kagejotei and her Kage Umare are just a myth anyway."

Daiyara grit her teeth together at the man's condescending tone. No one had any right to speak that way, not even toward the storyteller. However, just as she was about to rise from her throne, a blinding light illuminated the circle.

"The legend is true." two powerful, echoing voices cried out at once. As the light faded, the people of Mu could make out a pair of female silhouettes only twelve inches in height floating in mid-air. The two were identical; having long, braided, brown hair, garbed in red robes and a bejeweled flower on the opposite sides of their respective heads. Though they were tiny, they bore an aura of respect.

"Th-the Cosmos!" one Muan woman whispered in awe. Daiyara, Mana and even Salno stared in wonder at the sight of the twin fairies. Namurak stood up and addressed the two girls. "Emissaries of Mothra, it is an honor for me and the rest of Mu to have you present here, but why?"

The Cosmos turned their attention to him. "Because time is not on your side, Emperor Namurak," they replied at once, "Nor is it on the side of Mu or the entire world."

With that, the Cosmos' voices rose to thunderous volumes, seemingly echoing throughout the capital, " _People of Mu, heed our message; what you once deemed a story of Battra standing alongside Mothra and humanity against the Kage Umare and their queen is true. Unfortunately, time is running out. For the Shadow Queen is beginning to stir. Mothra has revived Battra but she cannot deliver the message to the world above in time. Because of this an emissary from the remains of your empire is required to deliver the warning to the surface, as proof that Mu stands beside the world she was exiled from."_

Daiyara listened well to the words before she stood up, announcing high and proudly, "I'll do it." The crowd and her family stared at her in shock. She then took a deep breath and began to speak, "If what the Cosmos said is true, this may be Mu's chance to reunite with the surface world. How long have we stayed down here? Therefore, I will go and ensure Mu and the surface live long enough to see another dawn and so Mu may finally see the sun again."


	10. Chapter 7: The Cavern

Chapter 7:

The Cavern

Takashi Tomakane ignored the masses of protestors at the base of Mt. Myoko. The man may have aged ever since the 1993 incident, but he had never once learned from it. Not even one single minute. The Marutomo Company wasn't going to change its ways. He had come down to the digging site after being informed of a problem. All he was really told was "It's serious."

As he stepped out of his van, a young foreigner executive named Clark Nelson ran up to him. "Mr. Tomakane, glad you could make it."

Takashi rolled his eyes as he stepped out. "You said there was a problem with the digging, what's the hold-up aside from the picketers?" he asked.

Nelson swallowed, hoping his words didn't invoke the wrath of his boss, "W-well, we keep hitting a stop that's been halting digging procedures."

 _That's it? I was called all the way from Yokohoma for_ this?

"Then get the drills running and remove it." Takashi snapped.

"Well, that's just the thing, sir. Whatever's blocking our path is hard enough dent the drills. Just take a look for yourself."

Takashi was led over to a drilling device and, true to Nelson's word, it was worse for wear. The cutting edge of the drill looked like a crushed soda can while the lip angles seemed chipped away. This seemed odd. The drill was said to be sharp enough to pierce even diamonds so either the person who sold his company this drill either lied or exaggerated.

"Do we at least have teams working inside the caverns?" Takashi asked.

Nelson nodded, "Yes, sir. We've currently got four men down there assessing the situation right now. Though, I doubt we're going to get any legitimate results."

"Put me on speaker with one of them," the Marutomo CEO commanded, "I would like to at least know what the Hell down there is strong enough to dent a drill."

Nelson handed his boss a walkie-talkie without question. Takashi fiddled with the knobs to the right signature and pressed the button.

"This is Tomakane, what's going on down there? Over."

" _This is Tomakane, what's going on down there? Over._ " The voice of Shiro's boss crackled from his walkie-talkie as he voyaged deeper and deeper into the nearly endless catacombs. "This is Shiro Mayama, right now I am currently closest to the obstruction. I'll keep you updated. Over."

Shiro let out a sharp smoker's cough. He desperately needed a smoke right now, despite the doctor's warnings. He just couldn't help it. The middle-aged man had tried everything to overcome his addiction but none of it had worked and in the darkness, far away from the full moon's glow, with only his headlight illuminating his path, his craving was growing by the second. Just then, he finally came across something other than endless darkness. It was a large black object, easily the size of his two-story house.

"Boss, I think I've just found the obstruction. Over." Shiro spoke into his walkie-talkie.

" _Boss, I think I've just found the obstruction. Over._ " Shiro's voice crackled in Takashi's ear. Just outside of the caverns, the picketers had left, either having grown tired or just gave up. Now, with the lack of any annoying protests, Takashi could focus on the problem at large.

"What does it look like? Over."

" _What does it look like? Over._ "

Shiro stared at the strange obstacle in front of him. It didn't appear to be made of any rock he'd ever seen and it smelled assaulting, almost like brimstone or volcanic gas. He slowly removed his left glove and brushed the surface of the object. It didn't even feel like rock either. It felt almost... reptilian.

"It's not even rock, at all, sir. It's like a big piece of alligator skin. Over."

" _Are you telling me the drills are being stopped by a giant gator-skin patch?_ " Takashi's angry voice demanded over the walkie-talkie.

"No, sir, it's not exactly alligator skin, and it's not even a patch. I think we've just stumbled upon a Kaiju. Over."

" _Well of_ course _it would be a Kaiju, you twit. Can you at least estimate how big it is?_ _Over._ "

"Where I'm standing right now, I can't really know for certain. Over."

He could hear his boss mutter something on the radio-phone. " _Just stay there and I'll have the other three come your way and assess it. Over_."

 _Right, sure. Stay here with a giant killing machine. Nice idea, boss._ Shiro thought sarcastically. His boss could be such a dick.

"Roger. Over." he ended up saying instead.

With that, he popped out his newly bought box of cigarettes, considering his colleagues were going to take some time getting to him, he might as well have a smoke break while he waited. Shiro tore off the clear, plastic wrapping on the box and removed one of the twelve rods of rolled up tobacco and nicotine. As he placed it in his mouth, he got out his lighter and flipped the lid, starting a small flame. However, just as he was about to have the flame and cigarette make contact, the flame blew out like candlelight bowing to a breeze. This was followed by a glowing light behind him. Slowly the man turned around... only to see himself reflecting off a giant, blood red, slitted eye. The last thing he ever uttered was a scream.


	11. Chapter 8: Hellfire

Chapter 8:

Hellfire

"Shiro, can you read me? Over." Kenji Tsuna spoke into his walkie-talkie, receiving nothing more than just static. "Shiro, I ask again, can you read me? Over." Still static. The forty-something groaned in frustration. "Goddammit." he muttered. "Maybe he's on another smoke break." piped up Asuna, a thirty-something year old man.

"Maybe." Kenji shrugged. If that was the case, he wouldn't be surprised. It would be out of character for Shiro not to smoke at least one cigarette on the job. However, just to make sure...

"Tatsuo, I'm not picking up anything from Shiro. Have you found him? Over."

" _Not yet, Ken,_ " the fifty-year-old's voice crackled through the walkie-talkie, " _I am getting closer though and- wait. What is that? OH, SWEET GOD, WHAT IS THA-_!"

The last thing Kenji heard was his colleague screaming before cutting to static. "Tatsuo? Tatsuo, are you still there!?" Suddenly, panic started to set in. Just then, as he was about to call him again, a sound akin to a dying elephant reverberated throughout the caverns. And, like that, the dark, cold atmosphere of the cave became darker and colder. _What the_ Hell _is down here?_ Kenji thought to himself, his heart starting to beat faster and faster. Just then a light could be seen down the tunnel. At first, Kenji and Tatsuo sighed in relief that it may have been a flashlight... until they remembered they were the only ones there. Just then, the light got closer and closer until the men could see the source of the light... in all its blazing glory.

"Can anybody hear me? Over." Takashi growled as he tried getting a hold of his underlings. What the Hell could be so important that they wouldn't answer him. He was about to call again until a sudden shaking forced him into a stagger. At first, he thought it could have been just an earthquake... if earthquakes sounded like claws digging from underneath. _The Kaiju._ he thought, _it's awake!_

As if whatever beneath the miles upon miles of stone and soil could hear him, a large portion of the ground began to swell up like a pressure bubble building underneath magma in a volcano. With the force of forty tons of dynamite, the earth exploded sending molten rock and soil into the air. The sheer force of the blast caused Takashi to fall on his back as he could only watch, in sheer horror, the awakening of a new Kaiju.

The beast first gave away its presence in the form of a roar that sounded like a demonic elephant before an enormous claw rose up from the fire lined hole and gripped the side of the pit, followed by a gigantic serpentine head, and two others just like it as the Kaiju hoisted itself out of the ground, just enough to give its soon-to-be-victims a good look at it. The beast resembled a dragon from western culture except with three heads which brought to mind another dragon-like Kaiju King Ghidorah. However, unlike the golden hydra, this one had pitch-black scales with volcanic red veins interwoven in between each one as well as a blood-red membrane running along side its forked tail with a pair of batlike wings folding on its back. It had four legs as opposed to two and its heads just added to the overall demonic visage. Each of its six eyes were ember red and slitted like snake eyes which glowed malevolently. The dragon glared down at the assembled humans with what could only be described as contempt, especially regarding the middle head. The Kaiju raised its heads into the sky and let out a trumpeting roar, amplified three-fold, as the people in the area covered their ears to muffle the noise, even Takashi. Once it was done, the dragon's heads lowered down, this time with what seemed like red sparks inside of the two outer heads' jaws. Then, without any warning, the two outer heads snapped forward... and bolts of blood-red energy shot out like bullets. Once a pair of explosions equal to twenty tons of C-4 went off, the people in the immediate vicinity started running, trying to stay ahead of the advancing dragon only to die either by getting squashed, sent into the air by the dragon's lashing tail or reduced to ashes by the energy blasts it was shooting off.

Takashi realized it was now time to run as the Kaiju continued advancing. He had survived not one, but _three_ Kaiju in the past, he could survive this one. However, something about this Kaiju was different. It wasn't like Godzilla, Battra or even Mothra who were too big or too determined to put civilian lives in regard, this monster was going out of its way to kill as many humans as it could like it was playing some sick, twisted game. It seemed delighted in slaughtering innocent lives who only commited the crime of setting it free.

The dragon briefly stopped the bombardment of energy blasts as it pulled its middle head back, almost like someone about to throw up. As it whipped its head forwad, a plume of fire erupted from its jaws and consumed anything unfortunate enough to get in its path. All the while, its outer heads continued releasing crimson bolts as it continued its path of carnage. Takashi was almost at his car, until one stray bolt sent the car flying into the air in a fireball. Panicking, the Marutomo CEO, turned to see a man trying to get away in a car. He rushed forward, and tossed the man aside while also grabbing his keys. The CEO unlocked the vehicle as his heart started to pound faster and faster. Just then, as he was about to ignite the engine, he noticed the Kaiju from the side windows had stopped its rampage. Thinking he had escaped death once again, he sighed with relief. However, the luck that saved him way back in 1993 had all but dried up. For the Kaiju's veins had started glowing brighter than ever, giving the dragon-like beast a far more volcanic appearance.

The monster's middle head twisted its jaws into an almost human-like face of sadistic glee and right there, Takashi's heart skipped and his stomach made a flop. The Kaiju must have grown tired of its game and was just about to bring it to a close. Through the side mirror, Takashi could see the beast's veins glow brighter and brighter. He then noticed the light fade from a good portion of the dragon with only its right front leg still glowing. The dragon lifted its limb into the sky... before slamming it back down with the force of a train crash. The tremendous force shook the ground for a millisecond. However, that was soon followed up by the ground beginning to shake as cracks spidered out in front of the dragon. The cracks soon burst open with molten plumes, while magma waited at the very bottom. Countless poor souls began to fall into the open jaws of the hungry Earth to be boiled alive by the molten rock below.

As the cracks began to extend outwards, Takashi tried over and over again to ignite the engine but just as he finally succeeded, he could feel the car tilt and from the side mirror he watched Nelson scrabbling for help, trying feebly to escape his demise. Though he couldn't hear him over the chaotic rumbling, no doubt the man was crying out for help before he slipped away. Soon, Takashi Tokamone, CEO of the Marutomo company felt the car lurch as he was plunged screaming into the depths of the Earth, the sins of his past finally come to deliver his retribution.

Once the cracks had closed up, all that remained were just a few flames. Desghidorah smirked proudly at his work. What better way to wake up than to slaughter a bunch of hairless monkeys. However, there was still work to be done elsewhere. He could feel her... his lady, his queen. She was asleep but the energy she gave off was enough to grab the three-headed dragon's attention. Desghidorah started to unfurl his wings which had been caked in dust after who knows how many years of not being used and flapped them, fanning the still burning flames as he rose into the sky, letting out a strangely human-like laugh, knowing that the time would finally come to continue and finish what was started years ago. With a trumpeting roar, the dragon shot off into the sky, towards his queen.


	12. Chapter 9: Hope for the Future

Chapter 9:

Hope for the Future

Daiyara zipped up her bag filled with the materials and supplies she needed for the trip to the surface world; several dried strips of gronk meat, dried Kalad berries and a Rolisacite rod in case she needed to defend herself. She already knew her father wouldn't try to talk her out of going considering even the emperor of Mu had no authority over Mothra or even Battra for that matter. She had also decided to leave tonight as to not say goodbye to her siblings. If she were going to die on this mission, the last thing she would want to see was them crying. Well, maybe not both of them crying, maybe more like Mana instead.

The eldest princess of Mu snuck quietly through the darkened corridor of the palace toward the southern door and straight to the piers where the Aqua Gliders would be stationed. Her bare feet made no sound as she glided almost like a phantom out the door. Daiyara stopped briefly as she looked behind her, hoping this would not be the last time she ever saw her home again. The home where she would play with her younger siblings and Nightmare, the home she grew up in. With a sniffle and a small tear wiped from her cheek, she walked out of the palace and headed straight for the docks... unaware three figures were right behind her.

As she walked down the shadowed streets of Mu, Daiyara couldn't help but feel she was being followed. Shrugging it off, she continued walking, only to hear more sounds other than her own footsteps. Then, her suspicions were confirmed... in the form of a sneeze.

 _I should have guessed._

"Alright, Mana, Salno, you can come out now, I know it's you."

There was a brief silence until Salno's deadpan voice split it apart. "You just _had_ to sneeze didn't you?"

"I'm allergic to Caval flowers, okay?"

"Well, we just go busted because of your allergies."

Daiyara crossed her arms and started tapping the ground with her foot, waiting for her sisters to step out of the shadows. Once they did, it was revealed they had brought someone else along with them.

"You brought Nightmare!?"

Mana's eyes shifted left and right before she flashed her sister a sheepish grin. "Uh, yeah, funny story about that."

Daiyara rose an eyebrow before Mana just sighed, "Okay, she didn't want to be left alone, but can you really blame her? What if something happens to you and Mu no longer has an heir?"

"What if something happens to _you_?" Daiyara asked in response. "If either me, you or Salno die, who's gonna assume the throne? Besides, Rigen's still a baby." The eldest Muan princess groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose in frustration.

"Look, just go home."

"No." Mana replied, stepping up.

"I am _not_ in the mood to argue with you right now, sis, go back to the palace."

"We're going with you."

"No, you're not."

"Yes, we are."

"No."

"Yes."

" _Mana_."

"Daiyara."

While this was going on, Salno and Nightmare's gaze shifted between the two arguers.

"Would you just go back to the palace before someone-"

"Before someone what?"

Daiyara and Mana whipped around to see Malak emerge from the shadows, an elevated eyebrow on his face.

"Uncle Malak! What are- what are you doing here?" Daiyara asked sheepishly.

"I heard you talking to someone and had to investigate." Malak replied, "Speaking of which, shouldn't you be at the surface by now? And, I didn't realize you were taking Mana, Salno and Nightmare with you."

"Actually, I wasn't. They just decided to follow me."

Mana perked up and shook her head. "Actually, Nightmare wanted a night walk and Salno volunteered."

Salno shot her sister a glance, "Is that why you woke me up? I thought it was to join Daiyara without her noticing us."

"Shut up, Salno." Mana told her sister behind gritted teeth.

Malak shook his head and chuckled, "Believe me, Mana, I understand why you and Salno would want to join your sister to the surface world. Don't worry, I'll tell your parents Mothra had you two join your sister." He then handed them a large circular device; a beacon. "Should Kagejotei and her army be awake, just push the button."

As Daiyara took the beacon, Malak sighed, "Mu has been in exile from the surface world for too long, my dear nieces. I doubt her people would want to return to it in ruins. Now go, warn them."

Daiyara and Mana gave their uncle a hug before being curled around by Nightmare. This led to them noticing Salno just standing reluctantly.

"What? I don't do hugs." she proclaimed.

"C'mon, Sal. One little hug is not gonna kill you." Daiyara exclaimed.

Rolling her eyes, Salno reluctantly wrapped her arms around her sisters, her uncle and her sister's pet. With that, the four departed down to the piers, Malak watching the three girls he watched grow up in his brother's court leave his sight. With that, he thought a silent prayer.

 _Mothra, Battra, Cosmos. If you can hear this prayer, please assure to me this one request; should the Shadow Queen and her armies be awake, ensure Mu's heirs make it back alive and in one piece. Protect them, so that Mu and the surface can have a future_.


	13. Chapter 10: In the Dark Depths

Chapter 10:

In the Darkest Depths

At the pier, Daiyara spotted an Aqua Glider resting among the docks. The bullet-shaped vehicle currently had its stabilizers retracted inside of it. Mana accessed its control pad and, with a whir, the cockpit pulled back, revealing an interior big enough to house the three girls and the Raia. The girls slipped onto the cockpit along with the Raia as Daiyara took the pilot's seat with Salno as the co-pilot while Mana sat behind them with Nightmare.

Daiyara pressed on the crystal console, and as the glass returned to place, gallons of thick, soupy liquid started to fill up the cockpit. Nightmare growled in confusion and distress as Mana stroked her scales. "It's alright, girl. It's just to help us breathe this far deep. Just relax." Nightmare settled down a bit as the liquid finally enveloped the four and, with a lurch, the Aqua Glider departed from the pier and dove beneath the placid waters and out the open tube into the ocean. However, unbeknowest to the Muans, a long, dark creature watched them with blood-red eyes before tracing their movements not too far behind.

Inside the cockpit, Mana watched schools of glowing fish she had never before laid eyes upon as the Aqua Glider propelled its way through the dark depths, illuminating the way with its warm blue light, its swept-forward wings cutting through the water like a knife through butter.

"Are we there yet?" Salno asked.

Mana groaned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. "For the fifth time, _no._ "

Salno shrugged and followed suit with Mana at staring at the bioluminescent marine life as Daiyara kept the course steady. It had been at least two hours since the three had left Mu and they had barely reached past the Aphotic zone. They at least had another few hours to go even _with_ the Aqua Glider's speed. She then heard a pinging noise on the radar and noticed a large star-like dot approaching them. _What is that?_

Just then, Nightmare seemed to spot something among the murky darkness, flattened her ears and growled. Mana noticed the Raia's distress and stroked the reptomammal's neck again. "What is it, girl?" She followed the Raia's gaze outside... only to see nothing but the same fish and marine life they had been observing the whole time. "It's just fish, Nightmare. Nothing to be worried about."

Nightmare looked at her master's sister for a few seconds before growling again, only this time much louder and to the point she was baring her teeth. At this point, Daiyara had finally caught onto her pet.

"What's wrong with Nightmare?"

Mana shrugged, "I think something spooked her."

"Well, I did see something on the radar."

Salno gave her older sister a raised eyebrow. "And you didn't tell us about that because?"

"Because I can barely see anything in front of us, Sal." Daiyara replied, "Besides, we've now got three hours until we reach the surface, so it won't be much longer."

Salno was not convinced whatsoever. "That's still a long time, Dai."

"It's shorter than three _days_."

"I'm just saying we still have a long way to go."

"You know what? This conversation is over. Just enjoy the view."

"How do you expect me to enjoy it if there's something out there and we're hours from the surface?"

"What part of 'this conversation is over' don't you understand?"

Amidst the arguing, Nightmare's growls just kept getting louder and louder much to Mana's concern. Mana followed the Raia's gaze, ignoring her sisters' bickering and looking outside the window. Just then, in the barely illuminated blackness, she swore she could spot a long, silhouette. "Um, guys?"

"Salno, for the last time, this conversation is over. We'll get to the surface when we get to the surface."

"Yeah, if whatever's out there doesn't kill us first."

"We're still alive aren't we?"

"Maybe it hasn't attacked yet, that ever dawn upon you?"

"Guys." Mana tried again.

"Don't you think it would've attacked us by now?" Daiyara snapped.

"Maybe it's sizing us up."

"GUYS!"

Daiyara and Salno turned their attention to Mana.

"That thing Daiyara mentioned on radar? Whatever Nightmare's growling at I think I just saw it outside."

Daiyara and Salno exchanged glances. "Really. What did it look like?" Daiyara asked.

Mana blushed, "I just saw a silhouette. It was too dark so I didn't really get a good look at it."

"Are you sure you saw something and it wasn't just some silt stirred up by the undertow?" Daiyara asked.

"No, I really saw something!" Mana defended herself.

Daiyara was about to say something until the Aqua Glider was suddenly jolted by an unknown force.


	14. Chapter 11: Chase to the Surface

Chapter 11:

Chase to the Surface

 _Earlier_

The Kage Umare, named Unagikage, had been scouring the ocean depths for a period of time long forgotten. This far deep, the eel-like beast had resorted to feeding on any bottom feeder he came across. He hadn't seen any other Kage Umare ever since Kabutokage and Sarikage disappeared though he could feel the presence of DesGhidorah calling out to him. However, that all had changed as he sensed something new... yet also familiar. The Kage Umare realized what it was and curled his armored lips back in a grin. The Muans had finally come out of hiding and they were right in his domain. It was something he would never have another chance again. So, surging from the darkness, he lashed toward the vessel, his red eyes locked on to his prey.

 _Now_

"Everybody alright?" Daiyara asked her sisters and pet as they readjusted themselves, their bellies threatening to upchuck last night's feast into the oxygen-rich fluid.

"Define 'alright'." Salno replied.

"Now do you believe me?" Mana groaned, rubbing her head.

Daiyara was about to respond when she noticed the red dot on her screen was rushing towards them at a rapid pace. "Yes, you were right, I was wrong. Can we have this conversation _after_ we survive?"

With her sisters' silence as an answer, Daiyara sent the Glider rocketing through the depths only to find out their pursuer was still catching up even at full speed. This was not good. She had to do something or her, her sisters and their pet would die before completing their mission.

"Is it a Kage Umare!?" Mana shrieked in panic.

"I dunno, do you _want_ her to turn around and find out?" Salno replied, her voice still deadpan in spite of the situation.

"Would you both be quiet!?"

Daiyara banked left, pressing Nightmare and Mana against the window, giving both a glimpse of the serpentine movements of the beast chasing them... and a rather skull-like head. Mana's fears were confirmed, it _was_ a Kage Umare and they were out in the open. All she could do was think, _Oh, we are so dead_.

Just then, Daiyara noticed the depths had suddenly turned brighter. During the chase, she hadn't noticed their travel speed had been cut in half and they had now broken free from the Aphotic Zone and were now in slightly lighter waters. However, that also gave them a better look at the monster chasing them and it was just as frightening as they imagined.

It resembled a colossal eel but with jet black skin. On the outside it looked as though it grew a second skeleton on top of its body, complete with a milky-white skull illuminated by the Glider's light decorated to the brim with needle-sharp fangs over a pair of jaws lined with more fangs behind it that could swallow their ship whole. Then there were its eyes, its glaring, blood-red eyes which locked onto the small vessel with malicious intent.

Daiyara then heard something on the radar as she noticed a second large dot, slightly bigger than the one representing the Kage Umare headed toward them as well. _Oh, Gods another one_? This day just kept getting worse and worse... that is until the larger object seemed to changing course. It was also at this point, Mana could catch a glimpse of an enormous stocky silhouette surging through the darkness.

Outside, Unagikage's smile grew to sickening lengths as the Muan ship came closer and closer to the point he could snap it up in his jaws, his drool getting diluted in the depths. Just one snap of the jaws and the ship and those inside would be his. Just a few more feet and he would have his prize. However, just as he opened his jaws, ready to entrap his quarry, he spotted something rushing towards him, claws and fangs extended. He turned just in time to have the beast plow into him.

The impact of the collision sent waves upon the Aqua Glider as Daiyara fought to regain control. While she did this, Salno, Mana and Nightmare struggled to gain hold on something as they sloshed around the fluid. This lasted for a minute as Daiyara finally managed to get the ship readjusted.

With control restored, Daiyara shot the glider upwards and in the fleeing light, all three sisters could catch a glimpse of their possible savior's jagged back spikes as it and the Kage Umare grappled in the darkness.

Unagikage hissed with anger and frustration as his quarry escaped him. In his anger, he tightened his coils as taut as he could get without cutting them on his adversary's spikes. His opponent pulled one of its arms free of his serpentine form and dug its claws right into his flesh, spilling dark red ichor into the water. Even muffled underwater, the Kage Umare's scream of pain sent all the sea creatures swimming for cover. Having no other choice, the eel-like beast loosened his grip and attempted to escape, something his enemy was not going to give him the pleasure of as it gripped his side with its talons and grabbed tight hoisting him closer to its face, forcing him to lock his blood red eyes with its fiery-orange ones. Just then, the beast's back began to give off an eerie blue glow which illuminated the otherwise pitch dark depths and the last thing Unagikage's eyes ever laid upon was the same light developing within the open jaws of his enemy.

"Daiyara, slow down, the Glider can only take so much!" Mana screamed as the ship began to shudder due to the drastic speed, threatening to come apart with all four of its passengers inside of it. It was then, Daiyara noticed they were now closer to the surface, with a light glow seemingly calling out to them. She then retracted the wings of the vehicle as it shot toward the surface like a bullet.

"Hold on!" the eldest princess yelled just moments before the ship erupted through the surface, bathed in the pale illumination as the vessel bobbed on the surface. The cockpit opened, spilling out the breathing fluid as the four passengers spat it out of their lungs, taking in fresh air. Daiyara then stood up and stared into the distance with awe. High above them was a dark expanse decorated with small lights twinkling like diamonds while a giant pale object stared down on them. She was then joined in her awestruck wonder by Mana, Salno and Nightmare as they finally got their first taste of the surface. Just then, something brushed against her body, sending her hair into a flowing wall of chocolate brown as she closed her eyes in bliss. "So, this is what a breeze feels like." she whispered. For the first time in several millenia, three children of Mu had finally returned to the surface.


	15. Chapter 12: The Tomb

Chapter 12: The Tomb

Night had fallen over the peaks of Mount Satsuma. Not a sound was to be heard except for crickets, the squeaking of mice and the rare hoot of an owl. However, that silence was shattered by the sound of flapping wings as an enormous shadow streaked across the sky, sending any animal below into a full on panic. The instigator of the panic dove toward the mountain, heading toward a large opening hidden deep in its side. It (or rather _he_ ) circled around a couple of times before landing with surprising grace in comparison to his massive size.

DesGhidorah smirked as he folded his wings to his sides and entered the opening of his queen's tomb. His six pairs of eyes cut through the darkness as he trudged forward, letting the aura of his dormant leader guide him through until he came to the center of the mountain and exactly what he was looking for.

In front of him, dangling like a giant stony egg suspended by a spider web, was his queen's sarcophagus. He lowered himself into a bow, his three faces facing downwards in the presence of the entombed Kagejotei.

" **DesssGhidorah**." hissed a voice which echoed within his mind and nowhere else, " **It has been a long time**."

"Longer than it should have been, my lady." DesGhidorah's middle head, the only head capable of speech, responded, his booming, demonic voice reverberated like thunder, waking up a good amount of bats and other cave-dwelling creatures.

" **How is it you are awake**?" Kagejotei asked, curiosity lingering in her mental voice.

DesGhidorah, his eyes still closed, smirked. "Humans found my burial place and disturbed my slumber. I rewarded them generously... by reducing them to ashes."

" **I have felt something in the air, DesGhidorah. Unagikage's aura has disappeared moments after his awakening**."

The three-headed dragon mentally rose an eyebrow at this. The news was both surprising and disheartening. It wasn't enough two others of their kind, Sarikage and Kabutokage, were missing, but to have Unagikage disappear only after a short time of him stirring was another. They were now down three of their numbers. Once the Kage Umare were infinite in numbers. It wasn't until the empire of Mu and those pesky bugs Mothra and Battra formed an alliance the numbers of their forces dwindled down to more than a million strong. Granted, still a force to be reckoned with but not if their numbers could be counted. They couldn't afford to lose any others among their ranks.

"What should be done, milady?" the three-headed dragon asked, truly curious of his imprisoned queen's plans.

For a while, Kagejotei was silent as if thinking about how to approach this matter. Just then, her voice pierced through DesGhidorah's mind.

" **Send a few Kageyokai and await further instructions, DesGhidorah. The world has changed. It would be best to send a few scouts before setting our plans into motion. And should they find any Muan...** " He could sense his queen's jaws twist into a fanged grin, " **Bring them to me alive**."

DesGhidorah bowed as his queen's mental presence vanished from his own. He stood up, spread his wings and let out a triple roar. The trumpeting roar echoed throughout the caverns before being answered by a dozen hissing beasts each twice the size of a man with gleaming red eyes and skull-like masks on their faces. Their bodies were even darker colored than the inside of the cavern.

"Kageyokai!" the dragon snapped, getting their attention, "It seems the Muans have finally come out of hiding after all these years. Bring them here alive and should anyone stand in your way..." his lips curled evilly, "Remove them and scatter their pieces on the ground."

The shadowy beasts bowed in response as DesGhidorah opened a shadowy hole in front of them. "Oh, and one last thing: don't fail. It would be a shame if our army's numbers dwindled if you returned empty handed. Consider yourselves lucky I'll restrain myself if you do."

The Kageyokai nodded and lunged through the portal, hoping not to disappoint the tri-headed general of the Kage Umare.


	16. Chapter 13: The Surface

Chapter 13: The Surface World

"Get a load of these three."

"What show are they cosplaying from anyway?"

"Forget that, look at the thing with them."

"Gotta be animatronics."

"Those are some pretty damn good animatronics if that's the case."

These were all comments pointed toward the three young women dressed in unfamiliar attire. The youngest of them had glasses, sandals and bridal gauntlets with what appeared to be sapphires in the center. The middle had long hair which covered her left eye and a rather uncaring demeanor while the oldest was barefoot and dressed like she stepped out of a swimsuit photography session or a dino-sploitation movie. Walking next to them looked like what would happen if a wolf were injected with reptile DNA. The beast was easily the size of a polar bear with a long serpentine neck and an equally long tail. It had dark purple scales with lighter colored scales on its belly. A single row of spikes ran down from its neck to its tail while two larger spikes rested on its shoulders. Both of its front legs had spikes on their bends. Its head had large ears resembling horns and a single horn on its nose and slitted, blue eyes. All three of the girls were dressed in blue clothing with tanned skin, brown hair and blue eyes.

"People are staring, Dai." Mana hissed through her teeth,"We stick out like a sore thumb."

"And why wouldn't we?" asked Salno, "I mean, when's the last time they've ever seen a Muan?"

"Maybe we should try to communicate." Daiyara suggested. She brought herself and her sisters to a stop and cleared her throat. "Attention, people of the surface, I am Daiyara, Princess of the Mu Empire. My sisters, Princess Mana and Salno, and I have come to deliver a dire warning."

" _Qualti kouh salimui. Jiulki Mu boiou._ " the tallest woman spoke in some odd tongue, causing the people to tilt their heads in confusion and others to ask their friends what kind of anime these three were cosplaying from anyway.

"It is imperative the surface world and Mu are one and the same in order for humankind to live again." Daiyara finished, "Any questions?"

" _Sorera no on'nanako ni ga machigatte, imasu ka_?" a woman of the gathered crowd asked her companion in an unfamiliar language to which he just shrugged.

"Um, did anyone catch that?" Daiyara asked her sisters. Salno and Mana just shrugged and shook their heads. _How much has the surface world changed anyway_? she thought to herself. "So, now what?" Salno asked. Daiyara pondered for a moment, tapping the ground with her foot. She sighed before turning to her sisters.

"I think for now, we should at least find somewhere to stay." she suggested. Salno nodded, "Good plan, where do you intend we stay?" Daiyara groaned. "I don't know, okay!? This is kind of a first for me could you cut me some slack!?"

The people watched as two of the women; the one with too little clothing and the saggy one argued in a strange language, the scantily clad one waving her arms in the air and screaming at her associate. They slowly began to walk away from the arguing girls.

When Daiyara noticed this, she frowned at Salno. "Well, congratulations, Salno."

"Um, how is this _my_ fault?"

"You just scared off the help we needed!"

"Nope, that was all you. Maybe if you hadn't yelled your lungs out on me, we wouldn't have this problem. Besides, I'm pretty sure you're just looking for someone to blame."

"Okay, well I don't see you offering any suggestions!"

Mana frowned and rubbed the bridge of her nose. She then stepped in between her sisters and pushed them apart. " _Enough_." she snapped. With that, she strode from between them and stood still. She closed her eyes and took a deep breath. As she raised her hands, the gems on her gauntlets began to glow. Mana then placed her palms out and began to circle them, a strand of light began to form in the air. Mana kept this up until the light took on a circular shape. The circle then collapsed inwards into a blue tunnel floating in mid-air. Mana stepped up into the tunnel. She poked her head out of the mouth of the portal, a deadpan expression on her face.

"Are you coming or staying?" she asked before poking it back in. Daiyara groaned as she walked up to the portal and walked into it, past her sister. "Have I ever told you how much I _hate_ jump-tunnel travel?" she growled.

"Never crossed my mind up until now."

Salno led Nightmare into the jump-tunnel as all three sisters mounted the Raia as she began to sprint through the tunnel as it closed behind them.

Hisshin was bored. It wasn't enough his parents left him home with his grandmother (currently sleeping in her room) due to work, but he had little to nothing to do. As for the little he _could_ do, it was merely sit in front of the TV and watch news footage of a Kaiju attack at the base of Myokoyama on the NHK so chances were, his parents would most definitely be working all night at the UNGCC HQ. It frankly wouldn't surprise him seeing as this was the first noted Kaiju activity since 2004, the year his brother decided to go incognito and all the other giant monsters had either been contained or killed. Hisshin could still remember the first time he met his older brother back in 1998, a mere toddler held in his mother's arms as his parents stood on the shoreline, his brother's colossal form lumbering toward all three of them. He could remember his face reflecting from within his brother's burning eye and the smell of fish and sea water after he snorted from his nose.

 _Wonder where you are now, Bro._ Hisshin thought as he turned the TV off and stretched out. He was about to hit the hay when a strange blue light could be seen flickering among the trees and a sound not too dissimilar to that of a tesla coil caught in a typhoon. The light shone through the branches for what seemed like minutes passing for hours before it came to a stop.

Curiosity getting the better of him, Hisshin slipped on his shoes, slowly opened the door as to not awaken his grandmother and walked into the darkened forest, his flashlight illuminating his path. As he ventured further and further into the woods, he could hear three voices, all female speaking in a strange language.

" _Teka bola kvun, Mana?_ "

" _Iski bola laruo polijtin va?_ "

" _Zint te vaul! Li kvun bola gher okamandi vel qualrae!_ "

" _Tal be ili graiv yuun piov?_ "

" _Salno, li kvun bola gher okamandi vel qualrae. Utna tal nai polav_?"

Hisshin was just about to get closer to see the speakers, until pushed him from behind and pressed him to the ground, the impact knocking the wind straight out of him as a bladed weapon materialized into his point of view.


	17. Chapter 14: Chase through the Woods

Chapter 14:

Chase through the Woods

 _I'm dreaming._ Hisshin thought to himself as a strange spear's tip inched closer and closer to his face. _I fell asleep in the living room and I'm having a nightmare. If I just pinch, I'm gonna wake up._

" _Utna bola be?_ " one of the women demanded in that strange language. She didn't sound happy.

Hisshin struggled to get his arm free from whatever was holding him down but to no avail as the tip of the spear thrust so close it was practically tickling his nose. It didn't help when the thing pinning him started growling, a clear indication it was alive and anything but friendly.

"Utna bola be!?" the woman holding the spear demanded again, this time a bit more forcefully. It could certainly help if he could understand a word what she was saying.

" _Quaol va be utna eol teka bola kvun_ valq!"

" _Daiyara, mou va ikolma iol. Yuai_?" another female voice, this one sounding a bit more level-headed spoke up. The spear fell back slowly as a pair of sandaled feet entered his view. " _Nightmare, n'bal._ " she told the creature behind him. Hisshin could feel the pressure on his back ease up as the beast gurgled in compliance and stepped back. He rose to his feet as a blue light gleamed from the new girl's hands. He could catch a glimpse of a girl only eighteen-years-old with short brown hair and bespectacled eyes. The girl reached out with her left fingers and touched his forehead. It didn't hurt him, in fact it felt kind of ticklish like someone was rubbing a feather against his brain. The feeling disappeared as she pulled her fingers back and spoke again. "Quaol. Ithic that help?"

Hisshin blinked in surprise. He could understand her. The other girl, the eldest and probably leader scoffed, "Why didn't you do that when we first arrived, Mana?"

"Because you weren't holding people at spear point, Daiyara. And could you please put the rod away before you hurt somebody?"

'Daiyara' muttered something but her silhouette could be seen retracting her spear, a strange metallic skittering noise emitting from it in the process.

"Okay," Hisshin interrupted, "as much as I would like to thank you for a language lesson or whatever the hell that was... could you kindly tell me who you are and why you are in the middle of the woods?"

The shorter of the three girls, the one who had glasses stepped forward. "I am Mana, the one holding the spear is my older sister Daiyara and the glum one is Salno. We are the daughters of Emperor Namurak and Empress Kylaa, princesses of the Mu empire." She added very quietly, "Or what's left of it anyway."

Hisshin nodded as he mentally digested the information given to him, though it would take a while.

"Also, the creature that had your face against the dirt was our Raia, Nightmare. As for why we're here, we received a warning from the Cosmos, emissaries of Mothra, that the Shadow Queen, Kagejotei shall return and extinguish humankind as she attempted many eons ago. Okay, it was Daiyara who volunteered, Salno and I just went along with her. Why we're in the middle of the woods... jump-tunnels are a funny thing."

Hisshin just stood there, the only sound being crickets making their nighttime music. He cleared his throat. "So, let me get this straight, the reason you're here is because you got a warning from _Mothra_?"

"Well, actually, from the Cosmos, but technically, yes." Mana tilted her head, "How do you know about Mothra?"

"Because she along with Battra and Godzilla tore Yokohoma apart three years before I was born."

"Godzilla? What's a Godzilla?" Daiyara asked.

Hisshin was about to explain... until Nightmare started growling. It was deep sound, like a guard dog stuck inside of a cave as the noise echoed throughout the cavern. "Nightmare?" Mana cooed, "you okay, girl?"  
Nightmare just kept growling having ignored what the princess said. Just then, Hisshin noticed something off about the whole situation. Aside from Nightmare, nothing was making a sound. Not even the crickets. Just then, a rustling noise could be heard as something large darted away. The sudden movement startled Hisshin as he waved his flashlight to the left. A new growling sound could be heard, this one a bit more malevolent. In fact, it felt more like cruel, animalistic laughter than anything else. The very noise turned Hisshin's spine ice cold. That was not something a natural creature made. The three girls must have the exact thoughts as they huddled close to the silhouette of what the Japanese boy could only describe as a dinosaur having crossbred with an extinct Hokkaido wolf. The growls continued for what felt like an eternity until silence finally settled in.

Hisshin slowly raised his flashlight to the bushes in front, his hand shaking and a chill running through his body in spite of the Summer warmth... and was immediately greeted with the sight of snapping jaws. With a yell, Hisshin stumbled back, having caught a glimpse of a skull-like face, blood-red eyes and ink-black flesh. The beast seemed stunned as he attempted to rise to his feet. He heard the sound of clawed feet galloping on the ground and a strong hand hoisting him up and placing him in between two curved spikes. He could feel the wind rushing onto his face as what was obviously Nightmare gained speed with Daiyara desperately telling her to run faster. Behind him, the monstrous howls of whatever he saw rose in volume... or rather in numbers as the moment he turned to look past his shoulder, he could see many pairs of blood red eyes piercing through the darkness.

"Um, not to pressure you, but can this... thing go any faster?" he called up to Daiyara.

" _Thing_?" she cried out as if offended, "First of all, Nightmare is not a thing. Second of all, you want fast? I'll show you how fast a Raia can go!"

With that, she snapped something at her mount in her language and the creature began to pick up even more speed.

 _We're gonna make it!_ Hisshin thought in relief, _We're gonna-_

Suddenly, a large figure leaped into the air, gaining ground between them as a thick, taloned paw wrapped around his leg. Hisshin cried out in distress as he held onto one of the quills protruding from Nightmare's spine. Think of something, Hisshin tossed the hardest thing he was holding at the beast's face. There was a crisp _smack_ and the sound of what could only be broken bone as the object made an impact. The monster let go of him with a yelp and it stopped chasing him. Hisshin pulled himself back where he was sitting and let out a laugh, only to realize what he had thrown; His flashlight. The one his parents told him never to lose.

 _Mom and Dad are going to kill me,_ he thought, _if I_ survive.

"Can't one of you do something to get them off our backs!?" he cried out, noticing the red eyes of their pursuers were gaining on them.

"This might help!" Mana replied. She shifted to the point she was facing the eyes behind them and held her arms out on either side of her. The light appeared again and she waved them out, an arc of blue light streaking from them which hit the ground, creating a wall of solid blue energy like a two-dimensional fire. Not only did this work as the creatures chasing them stopped in their tracks, but it also gave Hisshin a better look at them.

In simple terms, the beasts were a mixture of living shadow, gorilla and Komodo dragon. They all had jet-black skin, fiery red eyes and what looked like misshapen wolf skulls for heads. Their upper bodies consisted of enormous, beefy forearms each ending in ten-clawed hands (five on each one). Their lower bodies, while still muscular, were a bit scrawnier in comparison as stubby tails whipped back and forth. They were each roughly the size of a full-grown man, maybe a bit bigger. The way they flinched and retreated from the light gave little to the imagination of what their weakness was. With howling shrieks, the beasts scattered, hoping to gain as much ground away from the light. That is, except for one of them which was much bigger than the rest. It simply strode up to the wall and gave Hisshin a good look at its face. The skull he assumed was its head was broken on the right side revealing it merely to be something like a mask. It glared malevolently at Hisshin before it put something on the ground. It was Hisshin's flashlight. Just then, in a quick movement, the beast lifted its fist and smashed the flashlight, leaving nothing but a flattened pile of shattered plastic, glass, metal and batteries which were just now leaking fluid into the top soil. The monster let out a roar befitting its savage, terrifying form before it ran off with its fellow beasts.

Hisshin slumped off Nightmare's back, feeling ill as the adrenaline started to wear off. The wall of light gave him a better look at his new acquaintances. He got a better look at Mana who wore bridal gauntlets with what appeared to be sapphires resting on top of her middle fingers whereas he noticed Salno having brown hair much like her sister only it was longer with the left side of it covering her eye and she a rather glum demeanor. Her blue robes stretched down all the way to her feet. Daiyara was the tallest of them and she looked like a swim-suit model on the way to a photo shoot, her attire consisting mostly of a tube-top bikini and a sarong. She wore no shoes and, much like Salno, had long hair but she at least kept it behind her face and it resembled a chocolate wildfire. All three girls had blue eyes and tanned skin. He got a clearer look at Nightmare who had purple and indigo scales (indigo on top, purple below) and black spikes running down her back, two large ones on her shoulders and a couple of medium ones on her upper forelimbs. She also had blue, cat-like eyes and long wolf-like ears while a small horn poked above her nostrils.

"So, got a place we could stay?" Mana asked with a sheepish smile as the blue light disappeared. _No, forget the flashlight_ , Hisshin thought, this _is what Mom and Dad are gonna kill me over_.

"This way to my house." He groaned, leading the girls and their pet back where he came.

The base of Mt. Myoko had already been deserted by the countless reporters and G-Force crew. For a while, it seemed quiet and peaceful, as though there wasn't a full-blown massacre prior. However, that peace was shattered as winds swept through the area. Two gigantic shapes landed, six clawed legs digging into the ash-covered ground. The two Kaiju had waited for the humans to leave as they remembered what kind of a panic they envoked twenty-one years ago (well, one of them anyway, the other was on good terms with humanity). Mothra and Battra watched a hawk-sized version of the former land, its twelve-inch passengers dismounting and studying the ground before giving each other a grim exchange of glances.

"It's just as we feared, sister." one of them told the other, "The humans have awakened the Shadow Queen's general. Time has all but abandoned us at this point."

The other Cosmos nodded and pondered to herself. "Do you think we should awaken the Azumi guardian?" her sibling asked.

"We don't need to bring Seesar into this. Not just yet."

"Then what will be the right moment?" the other Cosmos asked, a hint of frustration in her voice, "When shadows consume this land? Sister, we must at least alert him. You said we need all the help we can get, what if Princess Daiyara isn't enough?"

Both Battra and Mothra's eyes fell upon the elder Cosmos. The emissary of Mothra sighed as she faced her twin. "Very well, we shall inform him of what is to come." The two once again mounted the small moth and flew off, Mothra and Battra following close behind, dust and loose dirt swept into the air.


	18. Chapter 15: The Day After

Chapter 15:

The Day After

"I gave you simple instructions." DesGhidorah growled as calmly as he could, the Kageyokai bowing their heads out of shame or fear "Retrieve the Muans and bring them here alive. Now, come dawn and you return to these caverns _empty-handed_."

The three-headed dragon's enormous claws dug deep into the rock. He had a strong urge to destroy something right now if only to avoid taking his frustration out on the foot-soldiers. However, at this point, losing twelve incompetent Kageyokai would be worth the risk.

"It wasn't our fault, Lord DesGhidorah," the leader of the group spoke up, "the Muans have already found a surface world ally. He bore a device which harnessed light and he threw at me. My face shows proof of this." It pointed its claw to the left side of its face, revealing, true enough, half of its skull-like mask broken off and the black flesh exposed. "Is that all?" the three-headed dragon inquired.

"N-not quite, my lord."

"What else are you not telling me?"

"The Muans were of royal status... princesses."

DesGhidorah's outer heads started to growl but he kept them in check. Not only had the Kageyokai failed in retrieving the Muans, but they failed in retrieving three royal daughters. This was intolerable. He was about to say something until Kagejotei's voice hissed in his mind.

" **DesGhidorah.** "

"My queen, it seems the scouts have failed in retrieving the Muans like you ordered. To make it even worse, they were females of royal blood."

" **That is of little concern for me.** "

DesGhidorah was puzzled, but he kept listening. Who was he to go against the word of his queen?

" **Failures are merely lessons we learn from, DesGhidorah. From this failure, we learned when simple scouts aren't enough, perhaps something a bit more...** _ **potent**_ **is required.** "

"Potent, my lady?"

" **Yes. I think it is time our brothers and sisters woke up.** "

DesGhidorah turned his attention to one of the many large outer croppings of the cave walls, all of which roughly resembled sleeping beasts made of stone... or at least _sealed_ in stone. His six eyes fell upon one which screamed for their attention. Yes, that one would do most nicely.

"Kemonokage, awaken. Your services to our queen are needed." he growled at the sleeping beast. For a while, his voice echoed throughout the walls. As it trailed off, the sound of breaking rock replaced it as the Kage Umare stirred from his slumber. With an explosion of stone and dust, the monster erupted into view. Spindly, albeit strong limbs held his body aloft as four red eyes glared at DesGhidorah behind a nightmarish masked face.

"Retrieve the Muan princesses and bring them here alive. Kill anyone or anything that stands in your way. Rip the ground asunder if you have to but do as you have been commanded." DesGhidorah told him before casting a disapproving glance to the Kageyokai, "Succeed where others have failed. Am I clear?"

Kemonokage gave his response in the form of a roar before he shot through the caverns, the earth shuddering beneath his footsteps. DesGhidorah watched his passage and smirked. The royal brats of Mu were about to face something worse than mere Kageyokai. All it would take was a mere slip-up to reveal their location. The three-headed lieutenant of the Kage Umare turned his attention to the other sleeping beasts.

 _What a weird dream I had last night._ Hisshin thought to himself as the early dawn rays brightened up his eyelids. He dreamed he was in a forest with three girls who looked like _Nadia and the Secret of Blue Water_ rejects, their dino-wolf pet and getting chased by monsters who would fit right at home in a horror anime. He was about to pull himself out of bed... until he noticed something was holding him in place. Then came the murmers. He tilted his head down to notice Daiyara sharing his futon, her arms wrapped tightly around him. He scanned his room to notice Salno and Mana sharing a blanket on the floor with Nightmare curled up behind them as their pillow. _Okay,_ he thought, _not a dream._ As he lay there, he could help but notice Daiyara's features; her long, brown hair which folded over her eye as she rested on her side, her soft, bronze-tan skin, her-

 _No!_ Hisshin thought, _Bad Hisshin! Bad Hisshin! Besides, she's a princess. As in someone_ way _out of your league. No dirty thoughts. None whatsoever._

Just then, there was a knock on his door. "Hisshin, I've got some clean clothes for you."

 _Mom!_

"I-I'll get them in a second, Mom!" he cried out.

"Hisshin, is something wrong? You sound kinda tense." Azusa asked, her voice muffled behind the door.

"I'm just getting up right now, Mom. I always sound like this."

"Hisshin, you and I both know how lousy you are at lying," his mother's voice was starting to take an edge, "what's going on?"

"Nothing, Mom! It's fine." he cried back, trying to pull Daiyara's arms off his body, only for her to tighten her embrace and murmer. After a few more tries, it was clear she was not letting go. He then noticed movement from the corner of his eye. He turned his head to see Nightmare lifting her own and regarding him with her cat-like eyes. Judging from how wide they were, she had woken up after hearing his mother's voice.

"Oh, you're enjoying this aren't you?" he whispered. Nightmare gave a light growl as if replying "Yes".

"What was that noise?"

"Um, my stomach-?" he squeaked out.

"Hisshin Gojo." His mother's voice took a hard edge.

"It's really nothing, Mom!" Hisshin cried out just as Daiyara finally pulled him in closer, rubbing her cheek against his.

"I'm coming in." Azusa announced, causing Hisshin's heart to pound. The last thing he wanted his mother to see was a scantily clad girl hugging him and a lizard-dog... thing.

"That's really not necessary, Mom." he told her.

"I think it is. You've been acting weird right now, I should at least check up on you."

"You really don't wanna come in here! Just telling ya!" He was now attempting to pry Daiyara's arms off of him.

"And why not?"

"Because I have really nasty bed head!" he cried out, this time in desperation. _Yeah 'bed-head'. She'll_ really _fall for that._ Inner-Hisshin regarded sarcastically. _You idiot._ Hisshin sighed in defeat. "Okay, fine, Mom. I'm just gonna warn you, it might be hard for you to handle."

Azusa chuckled, "Hisshin, I raised a 25-story-tall, fire-breathing dinosaur as your big brother and was nearly killed by a giant pterodactyl. I think I've seen it all."

With that, she pulled open the door and walked in, basket of fresh clothes in place. At that moment, Daiyara, Mana and Salno's eyes opened as all three sisters awakened. Daiyara suddenly noticed she and Hisshin were embracing as a blush erupted across her cheeks. She sat up into a cross-leg postion, revealing she had been sleeping in her casual clothing the whole time and gave her host's mother a bashful smile. To be honest, it made her much cuter in Hisshin's eyes. _Again,_ his thoughts reprimanded him, _princess; out of your league_.

Azusa just stared at the three girls and a dinosaur(?) sitting around in her son's room, unknowingly dropping the basket in her arm, spilling out clothes onto the floor. She already had a long night as it was along with Kazuma; having to be called in to investigate a possible Kaiju sighting at Mt. Myoko, having to come home at midnight and now the first thing she saw was this. The adoptive mother of the current King of the Monsters frowned and crossed her arms while tapping her slippered foot.

Hisshin gave his mother a sheepish smile and scratched the back of his head. If he were in an anime, he would be sweat-dropping like no tomorrow. "Yeah, Mom... I can explain."

"Then start." Azusa replied, a calmness in her voice belying her less than calm demeanor right now. Hisshin sighed. This was going to be a long story.


	19. Chapter 16: Gathering Clouds

Chapter 16:

Gathering Clouds

He had no idea how long he had slept. It might have been a few days, a few months or eternity for he all cared. This far deep underwater, he didn't know if it was day or night. He had that dream again. The same dream he had after all those years. After that day. The visions of his father glowing a volcanic orange, him getting dropped out of the sky by the demon he thought slain at his hands, his father standing over his dying body, waking up even after he died and his father glowing hotter than the sun. He always woke up at the last moment that it might as well have been to the point of muscle reflex. It always haunted him. It wasn't just a dream, however. It was a reminder everytime he opened his eyes to the same murky darkness where no light ever reached: he was the last of his kind... and he was alone.

After a language barrier breakdown for the rest of the Gojo household, the three princesses sat down at dining room table with Kazuma, Azusa and Mariko whilst eating a breakfast consisting of the leftovers from last night's dinner. It was rather unorthodox, eating beef and shrimp _udon_ as a mid-morning meal but it certainly followed the Gojo code: "What's not eaten the day after is fed to the trash can". Or was it the Aoki code?

"So, let me get this straight," Kazuma started, having wiped his chin of _kakejiru_ broth, "you three are the royal daughters of the Muan empire which was sunken due to a weather control device angering Battra?"

Mana nodded, "Yes."

"And the eldest of you volunteered on a mission by Mothra to return to the surface while the rest of you followed?"

Daiyara nodded, "Correct."

"And you came to warn the people of the surface about something called 'Kagejotei'?"

"Yup." Salno deadpanned.

"Anything else we should know about?" This time it was Azusa's turn to ask questions.

The three girls shook their heads. All the while, Mariko let out a nostalgic sigh, resting her cheek against her hand whilst looking at Daiyara who took notice of this.

"Is something wrong?" she asked.

Mariko shook her head, "No, I'm just remembering when I had a body just like yours in the days of my youth."

The Aoki-Gojo family and royal sisters just stared at her in simaltaneous shock, even Salno's eye was bulging and her mouth was hanging open, letting a yet to be consumed strip of chicken slip out of her chopsticks and into her bowl with a small splash.

"Thank you, Mother," Kazuma spoke up, "for that... _wonderful_ image. Just what I wanted to think about while I was eating."

"Well, it's true, Kazuma," Mariko replied, "it's what caught your father's eye in the first place, that and my winning personality and my-"

"So!" Azusa spoke up, "who wants more _udon_? We got plenty of leftovers."

"Thank you." Kazuma mouthed his wife, relieved his mother shrugged and continued eating. Daiyara sat next to Hisshin who seemed rather uncomfortable yet estatic that a girl of royalty was sitting next to him. The only girls who would ever sit by him were either his mother, his grandmother or Mayumi at the school lunch table.

"Is this your whole family?" Daiyara asked him quietly.

Hisshin thought for a moment, "Well, this is the family I live with but I have other relatives."

"Like who?" she tilted her head in a rather cute way.

"Well, I have a grandfather on my mother's side who works at a museum. Then, of course there's my big brother, but I haven't seen him in a long time."

"We have a baby brother back at home, my mother, my father and my uncle," Daiyara told him, "then again, you probably know that by now."

Hisshin gave her a slight smile, "Didn't know you had a baby brother or an uncle. That's something I didn't know earlier."

"Same with me not knowing you had a _big_ brother or a grandfather."

Both young adults chuckled to each other before continuing their morning meal. After breakfast, Hisshin settled himself into the bathtub, letting the warm, still steaming water to envelop him. He rubbed himself with the rose-scented body-wash until he heard the screen door open. He looked closely through the steam fogged room to notice Daiyara and her sisters walk in, clad in towels. The sight of the three girls almost caused his eyes to burst out of their sockets and send his heart into a one-man race.

"Um, hi, girls. Wh-wha-what are you doing here?" he stammered, still digesting what was happening.

"Your mother said we could take a bath. We do have plans today after all." Mana replied as she and her sisters slipped into the warm waters, herself and Salno sitting to Hisshin's sides and Daiyara in front. Suddenly, the atmosphere became a lot more awkward.

"What... kind of plans?" Hisshin asked, hoping to clear the air.

"Delivering our warning to the surface world, what else?" Salno responded, "What plans did you have?"

Hisshin thought about it for a second until he remembered he and his parents were going to check out a new sushi joint in Minato his father had been interested since it was announced last Fall called Monarch Sushi.

"Well, my parents and I are headed out to Minato for lunch, this afternoon, if you want to come-" he hadn't even finished when Daiyara thrust herself forward outright destroying his personal space, "Hey, that's a great idea. We can go with you to this 'Minato' place and have an audience after lunch!"

Hisshin gave the princess a forced smile. "Great! Good to know this is a win-win situation for both of us. Now, could you kindly back up a bit?"

Daiyara did so with a sheepish smile after noticing they were inches apart from each other as one thought went into the young Gojo, _This is going to be a_ long _day_.

After the bath and convincing his parents to allow the girls to join them, Hisshin handed the sisters three sets of clothes, currently dressed in his gun-metal gray _Z-Fighter_ t-shirt and his mahogany shorts. "Any reason for these clothes?" Salno asked, lifting up a rather garish-looking, blue violet kimono with dragon-like decorations on it.

"Because I don't think people would take you seriously if you're dressed up as cosplayers." Hisshin replied.

Mana tilted her head, "What's a 'co-splayer'?"

"Costume player. They're people who dress up as characters from anime, movies or comics and perform on stage. Kinda like Halloween in America only minus the trick or treating."

Mana nodded, "What are all of those things?"

 _Oh, right,_ Hisshin remembered, _they're from another civilization._ He was about to explain when he heard Daiyara groan. He turned to see her holding up a pair of slipper shoes in her fingers. "Do I _have_ to wear these?" she asked.

"Yes. You have to wear shoes. You can't go out looking like that." Hisshin replied, pointing to her bare feet.

"You have to forgive her, she rarely wears anything on her feet unless she's forced to." Mana explained as she slipped on a vibrant green t-shirt with a cute chibi kitten and a pair of deep blue capri-jeans. She had been given her own sandals to wear.

"I do not!" Daiyara spoke up, as though offended before adding in a pouty manner, "I just don't like to wear them unless its voluntary."

"Right, I'll be sure to tell that to Tanira when we get home." Mana replied, a sly smirk on her face.

"Just put them on." Hisshin snapped.

Daiyara glared at the youth for a while before muttering something in her language and slipping the shoes on. At that moment, Azusa's voice called out, "Hisshin, we're heading out to the car!"

"Be out in a minute, Mom!" Hisshin called back. He turned around to see the princesses dressed up in their new street clothes. "Alright, let's head out." he told them as he started walking toward the front door.

"Wait!" Daiyara piped up. Hisshin sighed and he turned to face them. "Yes?"

"What about Nightmare?"

"My grandma volunteered to watch her."

"Okay, now I'm a little concerned about your grandmother."

"How?"

"Nightmare's a bit of a handful."

Hisshin smirked, "Grandma once stared down a ram at a petting zoo. She can handle herself."

As if in confirmation, they could hear Mariko snap at Nightmare.

"Sit! Don't give me that look or I will wipe it off your face. Now, _sit_!" This was followed by the sound of a large animal flopping on the ground.

"She's got this covered."

And so, Hisshin and the princesses set off outside to the Gojo car, Hisshin taking a seat in the orange family SUV's second row while Daiyara sat right next to him with Salno on the farther end and Mana sitting in the third row. "Everyone buckled up?" Kazuma asked as he adjusted the mirror.

"Yes." all four of the passengers replied.

"Did everyone go to the bathroom? It's thirty minutes from here to Minato."

"Yes."

"Just checking." Kazuma gave a slight smile. With that, he began to pull out of the driveway and began the drive to Minato.


	20. Chapter 17: Chaos in Minato

Chapter 17:

Chaos in Minato

The smell of food cooking on _teppenyaki_ grills was the first thing that whafted into the Gojo family and sisters' nostrils and the sound of Japanese jazz filled their ears the moment they stepped into the Monarch Sushi restaurant. The two families sat down at the sushi bar. Azusa had ordered a Spicy Tuna Roll, Kazuma ordered a Hot Mess roll and some _ebi_ while Hisshin shared a platter of Mango Tango, _unagi_ and _taro_ with the princesses, plus a bowl of combination fried rice. For the Gojos this was above par with some of the other sushi joints they visited but for Daiyara and her sisters, it was unlike anything they had ever eaten, rivalling even the best-cooked dishes back at the royal palace.

After the meal, Daiyara, Mana and Salno stepped out of the restaurant and walked into the center of Minato, right as rush-hour was coming to an end.

"This seems like a good amount of people to start with." Daiyara commented taking note of the crowd. In fact, it was a rather healthy number to get the word across. All that needed to be done was the language barrier situation getting rectified. "Mana, if you would?"

Mana nodded and spread out her arms, revealing she had kept her bridal gauntlets. Her sapphires started glowing brilliantly in spite of the post-noon/early afternoon sun. The glow attracted the attention of men, women and children from their shopping, dinining or other daily routines. Waving her hands again, Mana sent out a wave among the people gathered. With that taken care of Daiyara stepped into view, making herself visible for all to see, and began to speak,

"People of the surface world, I am Princess Daiyara, heir to what remains of the empire of Mu! My sisters and I have come to deliver onto you a dire warning given to us by Mothra, Goddess of Peace and Battra, God of Destruction! A monster from the past, Kagejotei and her followers, the Kage Umare are on the verge of awakening and finishing what they started eons ago! If the surface and Mu do not rally behind one another, humanity will be extinguished by the Kage Umare!"

Her words hung in the air before noticing the civilians shaking their heads and muttering something she couldn't hear but she had a good idea what it might have been. With a defeated slump, Daiyara turned and walked toward her family and Hisshin, her eyes pointed directly at the ground. Mana patted her sister on the back. Her elder sister sighed, "That went well." The sarcasm in her voice was somber and a result of defeat.

Hisshin was about to say something to cheer her up, when the ground began to shake beneath him. _Earthquake?_ The ground shuddered again, as though there were a thunderstorm in the soil. _No, those are footsteps._

Just then, the Gojos and sisters watched a fleeing crowd of people screaming at the top of their lungs. The sound of sirens began to wail into the mid-afternoon sky. Sirens that had never been heard since 2004. As if to nail the point home, a claw the size of a store parking lot gripped the side of an apartment complex, the sound of bending metal and shattered glass from the impact rang out for all to hear. It was at that moment, the first Kaiju to be seen in a long time made its presence known. The beast lurched forward, scraping off the side of the building it was gripping onto and let out a howling roar. Almost immediately, anyone standing around in stunned awe and horror burst into terrified screams and turned into a seething tide of bodies hoping to get as far away from the beast.

The beast almost reminded Hisshin of those creatures that chased him and the girls the other night. It had the same features; jet black skin, red eyes and a skull-like mask. However, this one was much lankier as evidenced by its spindly front-limbs longer than even its body ending in four fingered claws while a secondary pair of smaller arms rested on its mid-section while shorter legs resembling saurian feet held up its massive form. A long tail ending in a bladed point whipped behind it. It also had some misshapen skeletal parts on its body like armor. Its skull face was unlike any other living animal on the planet to the point of unrecognizable. Four red eyes rolled on either side of its face while drool dripped from its mouth. It looked like a creature of nightmare. It also seemed to lack any dislike for light as the other ones did.

"Kage Umare." Hisshin heard Daiyara in horror. He may have seen her and her sisters scared (maybe) last night with those creatures chasing them, but this was the first time he saw them downright terrified. Even _Salno_ looked scared.

"We gotta get outta here, NOW!" Hisshin yelled as he held out his hand for Daiyara, who instantly grabbed it and pulled him along into a run. Hisshin looked desperately for his parents after having been separated from them once the crowd started running. The sound of jet fighters filled the air as JSDF and G-Force aerial units arrived. The F-16's went first, launching a barrage of D-3 missiles at the rampaging Kaiju.

Kemonokage felt a slight sting as the strange objects struck his outer left arm. Luckily, they hit his bone armor so when they started drilling into his arm (much to his surprise) they would at least dig into his exoskeleton and not his flesh. That is... until they exploded. The force alone caused the Kage Umare to roar out in surprise. Not pain, rather surprise. But it did grant the humans his attention. Attention they would soon regret.

Hisshin watched as flames licked the side of the Kaiju (or Kage Umare as what Mana called it). It let out a garbled roar as it shook its head like a dog shaking off water. The beast snarled as the jets shot overhead. Next came the ASTOL-MB93's, Maser cannons blazing. The Kaiju screamed in added annoyance as the blue energy beams struck its side. Once again, the only thing Hisshin could sense from its roar was annoyance. Just then, the beast opened its jaws, though not to roar. In fact, with a disgusting cracking sound, its jaws split apart; its lower jaw in two and its upper jaw in three. Suddenly, a noise equivalent to a snake in a power cable started to fill the air as a strange purple light emerged within its throat. The monster snapped its head forward, jaws splayed out as a thin beam of violet energy shot out and struck an ASTOL, destroying it in a ball of fire. The Kaiju wasn't done as it began sweeping its head back and forth, cutting buildings in half like a knife through warm butter. Nearly a quarter of Minato was now in flames.

He had been swimming for a good amount of the day. He always did like to check in on the surface to see how things were going in his absence. It wasn't like with his father who would voyage to the surface to wage war with them. However, this time around, something was... off. He popped his upper body out of the water just a bit, his spikes starting to poke through the surface to see what was the matter... just in time to see a purple beam cut buildings in fiery halves. This was proof enough something was truly wrong. And he had to take care of it _immediately_. With that, he dove back under the water and started headed to shore.

Hisshin looked back and right hoping to catch even a mere _glimpse_ of his parents as chaos erupted all around. Once again the jets fired their payload, only mildly irritating the Kaiju which responded with an energy lance which seemed to go on for miles. That is, until it spotted him and the princesses from the corner of its eyes. Hisshin could feel his heart flop as the beast slowly turned to their location, this time outright ignoring the explosions racking its body. Its gaze fell upon the three princesses and its mouth twisted into the most horrifying grin imaginable.

"MUUUUAAAAAANSSSSSS." it growled.

 _Oh, shit,_ Hisshin thought in sheer horror, _it can talk_. The horror only intensified as the monster began heading in their direction. "Run!" Daiyara cried as she dragged Hisshin along with her, Mana and Salno in tow. Behind them, they could hear people's cries getting snuffed out as the beast stomped them into oblivion. Just then, the monster's beam lanced out, cutting them off as it ruptured a gasline, causing a wall of fire to erupt in front of them. The four turned to see the Kaiju loom over them, a smirk on its skull-like face. However, something happened.

Just as it was leaning in to grab them, it let out a gurgling gasp as something seemed to grab it from behind its left. Something big. The beast rolled two of its eyes... and saw another fiery orange one staring right back at it. The new Kaiju spun around and threw it into a building. Daiyara, Mana and Salno watched in awe at the beast that saved them... while Hisshin looked on in pride.

"Hey, girls?"

The princesses turned their attention to Hisshin.

"Remember when I said I had a big brother?"

"Yes?" Salno replied.

" _That's_ my big brother."

For the first time since 2004, Godzilla Junior had stepped foot on Japanese soil, and he let the world know he had returned with one sound.

 **SKKRREEEEEOOOOOOOOOOOONGK!**


	21. Chapter 18: The Prodigal Son Returns

Chapter 18:  
The Prodigal Son Returns

That's _Hisshin's brother!?_ Daiyara thought as she stared up at the colossal, reptilian beast who had just flung the Kage Umare into a building. Hisshin's brother was huge, towering a few feet above the shadow born beast, having a slightly slumped over humanoid stance. He had dark gray skin with grooves instead of scales with a faded red dot on his chest, possibly a scar. His muscular arms ended in eight sharp claws, four on each hand. His stocky body was held up by tremendous legs ending in four, thicker-clawed toes on each foot. Behind him waved a long, segmented tail which encompassed seventy-five percent of his length. A feline head rested atop his sturdy, long neck with fangs the length of two men sticking out from his upper lip. A pair of burning, ember-colored eyes gazed down at his fallen enemy. The most striking feature was the three rows of jagged bone-white spikes which ran from the crown of his head all the way to his tail. Mana recognized the shape of the spikes. Was this the beast that saved them from the underwater Kage Umare?

Just then, with an explosion of wreckage and debris, the multi-armed Kage Umare hoisted itself to face its opponent. Hisshin's brother narrowed his eyes, his lips curled up and a growl emanated from his throat. The two beasts circled, one waiting to see who would make the first move, the other deciding how to retaliate. Just then, with a howl, the Kage Umare lunged forward, claws splayed out and fangs exposed. It latched its jaws onto its opponent's shoulder. Hisshin's brother snarled and pushed himself and his opponent into a building right next to them, reducing it into nothing more than broken concrete, twisted metal and shattered glass. The sound itself was deafening but in the end drowned out by the roars of the fighting monsters. Hisshin then heard the muffled sounds of his parents, waving to him and the princesses just to their left. Daiyara once again dragged the younger Gojo to possible safety all the while he watched as his brother, having finally removed the Kage Umare from him, grabbed it by the throat.

"Get 'em, Bro." Hisshin whispered, "Get 'em."

Junior held his enemy by the neck, its smaller arms clawing feebly at his own. He responded by slamming the monster's face into a building and proceeded to scrape it across, leaving a huge gash in the structure. He then threw the beast into another building, the sheer force flattening it on impact. He was filled with burning anger. This... _thing_ thought it could challenge him. He may not have been his father... but he still could dole out punishment. With a roar, he charged forward.

Kemonokage's head was spinning, both physically and mentally. How could a mere mortal beast be already gaining the upper hand over him? Was it also after the Muans? The last thing he needed right now was competition. The reawakening of his queen was not going to be put in jeopardy by whatever this monster was. However, the moment he got back on his feet, the creature was charging toward him at a speed belying his bulk. Kemonokage spread out his arms and dug his feet into the ground, his claws piercing the black surface as his enemy collided with him.

The sound of Godzilla Junior and the strange monster impacting was louder than any recorded train crash and the force was enough to destroy any windows within a forty-five mile radius. The two Kaiju started to grapple with each other, their roars like thunder. The people fled for cover, hoping to stay as far away from the battling titans. Azusa and Kazuma, fortunately, were at a safe distance away from them as the former watched her adoptive son wrestle with the new Kaiju. Just then, the monster managed to dig its fangs into her adopted elder son's shoulder, causing him to roar in pain. "Mom! Dad!"

Her focus was given to Hisshin and the girls running toward him. She held her arms out and hugged her son by birth. "We need to get to somewhere safe," Kazuma told her, "I doubt those two are going to stick fighting in that area."

Azusa nodded as she led her son, his friends and her husband to a possible safe area. She shifted her gaze back toward the fight just in time to see Godzilla Junior sink his own fangs into his opponent's arm.

Kemonokage screamed out as his foe's teeth sank deeper and deeper past his arm's exoskeleton. It had been two millenia since he felt true pain, the last time it was getting his flesh scorched by the crimson bolts from Battra's eyes and the lightning from Mothra's wings. He dug his fangs into his enemy's flesh, right to the point he could taste his blood. However, his foe did the same only harder. Just as the pressure and stinging agony became too much for him, Kemonokage loosed his jaws and his hold on the beast and howled in pain, holding his arms which had just now started bleeding red-violet ichor. However, it wasn't until he realized he made a mistake when his opponent raised his fists and slammed them down on him.

Once his enemy was down, Junior kicked it in the chest, knocking it on its back before planting his foot where he kicked. The monster attempted to get back up on its feet. He responded simply by pressing down on it and applying pressure. He intended to press down on his foe to the point something gave. Suddenly, an electric, hissing sound entered his ears. He looked up to see the source of it. His enemy's throat glowed purple as its jaws split in five. Then, a bolt of purple energy shot out and scorched his chest. With a roar of pain and surprise, Junior stumbled back into a building, the structure falling down on him.

Hisshin gasped as he saw his brother was buried underneath a business complex. "C'mon, Bro, get up." he hissed through clenched teeth as he noticed the Kage Umare advancing on his fallen adoptive sibling.

Kemonokage hissed with delight as he loomed over his fallen enemy. He finally gained the upper hand over his opponent. Now, to finish him off. He prepared his Dark Mana Beam again, ready to end this fight. That is, until he noticed a flashing blue light underneath the rubble. Before he could react, his enemy burst from the debris, his spikes flashing with electric azure energy. Kemonokage growled in frustration. However, the moment he was about to fire, his enemy breathed in until his chest puffed out... and, instead of a roar, a plume of silver-blue fire erupted from his jaws and washed over him. The heat was so intense he could literally feel his skin _boil_ and his prepared energy blast was extinguished the moment he screamed in sheer agony.

Hisshin mentally cheered as he watched his brother push the Kage Umare into a building by the sheer force of his Cherenkov Radiation-laden plasma. The moment he stopped, the monster tried to shake off the pain in spite of a patch of smoking, charred skin on its chest. The beast then lunged forward... only to get a faceful of blue, radioactive fire.

Godzilla Junior watched as his opponent slumped to the ground, its face and chest smoking. With a grunt, he turned to take note of the humans running. Among them were three he recognized and three not so much. Just then, he heard the sound of something grabbing a building and hissing. His enemy wasn't dead... _yet._ Clenching his four rows of teeth until they ground against each other and narrowing his eyes until they were fiery slivers, he slowly turned around. His enemy stumbled a bit before finally regaining its holding. The left half of its skull-like face had burned away, the eyes on that side were completely destroyed. If it could survive two blasts on the outside, maybe it was time for him to take a different approach. As his enemy pounced with a wild shriek, Godzilla Junior sidestepped it, whacking it onto the ground with his tail. With his foe disorientated, he reached down with his right talons and grabbed its upper jaw. He then twisted its head until his left hand was gripping its lower jaw. Once he had the monster in the position he wanted, he proceeded to pry its mouth open. Then, the struggling began. The beast seemed to know exactly what he was going to do as it began thrashing around and clenched its jaws tight. Godzilla Junior barked and delivered a strong punch to the wounded side of its face. As the beast roared in agony, he began to pull the jaws apart again, this time getting as far enough to see down its throat.

Kemonokage could do nothing as his enemy glared down on him with an ironically cold gaze belying its burning eyes. Once again, its spikes began to dance with electric blue sparks. _Forgive me, Lady Kagejotei,_ he thought, _I have failed you_.

Daiyara, Salno and Mana watched in raptured awe and a bit of horror as Hisshin's brother loosed his blue flame down the Kage Umare's pried open jaws. He intensified the strength of the flame to the point the stream was now _arching out his enemy's neck_. As he let the flames die down, Hisshin's brother held up the now dead beast before throwing him to the ground, the sheer impact of the corpse setting off several car alarms. Alarms, which were drowned out as the saurian giant lifted his head into the sky and loosed a roar to the heavens as though demanding their respect. After it hung in the air, Godzilla Junior surveyed the damages. With a grunt, he began trekking his way back to the sea. Before he took one more step, he paused and turned to look straight at Hisshin. For a few minutes, the two brothers acknowledged each other for the first time since 1998. After a while of silence, Godzilla Junior's footsteps thundered as he made his return to the shoreline, leaving prints big enough to filled in as Olympic style pools.


	22. Chapter 19: Aftermath

Chapter 19:

Aftermath

"Kemonokage is dead."

That simple statement echoed throughout the cavern from Kage Umare to Kage Umare. Moments upon awakening, the aura of Kemonokage had just disappeared, snuffed out of existence. Now they were four numbers short among their ranks; two missing and two casualties. DesGhidorah seethed with anger. Whatever managed to do this would pay and pay _dearly_. Not only did Kemonokage's death lower the numbers in their ranks, but now it put their plans in jeopardy. He then began to walk away, the other Kage Umare watching him as he left.

"Where's he going?" asked Sasorikage, a gigantic scorpion-like beast.

"I think he's going to speak with Lady Kagejotei." replied the bat-like Koumorikage.

True enough, DesGhidorah arrived in the chamber of the Shadow Queen's sarcophagus and bowed. "Lady Kagejotei. I bring unfortunate news."

" **I am already aware of Kemonokage's demise, DesGhidorah** ," Kagejotei replied, an edge to her mental voice which surprised the three-headed dragon, " **no need to bring it to my attention**."

DesGhidorah could sense the restrained anger from his queen. Up until now she had been calm and collected, shrugging off something like the Kageyokai failing to retrieve the Muan princesses. He could hardly blame her as well. After all, it wasn't like they were two members short of their ranks. Their plan hadn't even been put into motion and already there were two casualties.

"What should be done, my queen?" DesGhidorah asked.

" **Whatever killed Kemonokage is an obstacle. A rather...** _ **insufferable**_ **one, but an obstacle all the same. And like all obstacles, it needs to be removed. We have waited far too long to finish what we started, I refuse to let it be for nothing. Send two of our Kage Umare, have them dispose of this problem**."

"And what of the Muans?" the three-headed dragon inquired.

" **I think the Kageyokai of ours could be in dire need of redemption. But failure won't be a problem. You can go along with them**."

DesGhidorah bowed in respect, "It shall be done my queen. This time, failure will _not_ be a factor. I will ensure of that."

" **It better not**."

DesGhidorah couldn't help but flinch at the harsh tone in Kagejotei's voice. He turned his attention to the shadows.

"Kageyokai!"

The shadow beasts who failed the last time seemed to dissolve from the shadows.

"Lady Kagejotei has suggested you are in need of redemption. Once the sun sets, you shall receive that."

"We will not fail you this time, my lord." the lead Kageyokai nodded.

"Oh, I can assure you, we won't. As I will also partake in this endeavor." DesGhidorah replied with a smirk. The Muan brats were _not_ going to get away this time.

" _This is Yuri Tachibana reporting to you live from Minato as it is currently under reconstruction following the first Kaiju incident in ten years and the first landfall made by the current Godzilla_ ," the straw-haired reporter spoke into her microphone, " _At 1:00 pm, an otherwise normal afternoon erupted into chaos as an unknown Kaiju arrived in the metropolitan area before the formerly named 'Godzilla Junior' appeared for the first time since 2004 and killed the beast in battle._ "

" _It was like a major war had broken out._ " a sixty-year-old man shakily talked into the microphone in front of him. He swallowed for a second, taking in a deep breath before continuing to speak, " _I- I guess this serves as a reminder, the Kaiju never left._ "

" _Rescue teams are hard at work on retrieving any survivors as the death toll now rises from twenty to fifty_ ," Yuri continued as the camera feed returned to her, " _We have also received word from the Americans of a possible Kaiju sighting in Okinawa_."

The camera feed jumped to an American garbed in uniform named Steven Woods standing in front of the US military base in Okinawa. " _I couldn't make out the_ entire _details but I could make out it looked a little bit like a lion only it was standing upright like a man_."

" _With these recent events, the question remains,_ " Yuri spoke over footage of Godzilla Junior battling what looked to be a multi-armed Kaiju in the midst of Minato shot from a phone camera, " _are the events in Minato and Okinawa isolated events or are we seeing a resurgence in Kaiju activity ten years after the last event in 2004? Coming up next, step-by-step instructions on what to do in the event of a Kaiju atta-_ "

Takaki Aso cut the TV screen off as he turned to face the gathered senior members of G-Force. He was just in time to see Miki Saegusa enter and bow (while apologizing for her tardiness) before taking her place next to Meru Ozawa, her on-again/off-again rival.

"Glad everyone could make it," Aso commented, "because this is a rather urgent matter that must be discussed."

With that, he pressed a button and the holographic diagram of a stout, humanoid robot appeared in the center of the table, projected by a camera on the ceiling.

"Due to the current situation, we have decided to reinstate the _Toryu_ s as well as prepare MechaGodzilla II, MOGUERA II, Gigan and Megalon as a precaution."

As he said this, the image of the _Toryu_ mech diagram was replaced by images of the new MechaGodzilla and MOGUERA In comparison to the MechaGodzilla of 1994, this version looked somewhat sleeker, it had longer, more cylindrical-shaped arms ending in fingers. Three of the fingers were designed as missile launchers while the thumb acted as a laser painter meant to be used to pinpoint its targets. Its head looked far more savage than the '94 model and more box-shaped. It had stocky legs with feet equipped with wheels. Its stocky chest contained two Hyper-Maser guns. On its back looked like a VTOL aircraft.

MOGEURA II looked almost exactly like its '95 counterpart at a first glance, but if one were to look close enough, he or she would point out several differences. For one, it no longer had the "jet-tail" of its predecessor, it was far bulkier in appearance and it had two pylons on its shoulders containing several mini-rocket launchers.

Next came the images of G-Force's current "pet projects"; cyborg Kaiju named Gigan and Megalon, both created out of the corpses of two Kaiju left for dead by Godzilla Junior in 2002. Megalon resembled a giant Hercules beetle but with two limbs instead of six. Its arms had to be replaced with drills on account of its old ones ripped off by the new Monster King. It was incredibly stocky in terms of body build.

Its 'brother', Gigan, looked more machine than anything organic after a battle with Godzilla Junior which left it in a near-death state. It had a vaguely icthyonian appearance to it due to the three large fins on its back but it had a mouth ending in a metal beak with two mandibles on either side. In place of its eyes was a single visor and a forward pointing metal crest as well as a single row of spikes running down from its neck all the way to its pincer-tipped tail. In place of hands were two blades resembling Egyptian _khopeshes_ with a pair of hooks just below them. Its feet each ended in a single clawed toe. The most striking feature about it was the buzzsaw running vertically down its abdominal region.

 _They're actually doing this?_ Miki thought to herself as she stared at the holographic diagrams. Once the projector was done, Aso stood in front of the meeting table, his hands behind his back. "Any questions?" he asked.

He instantly took note of Miki's hand. "Yes, Mrs. Saegusa?"

Miki slowly stood up out of her chair, her eyes closed and taking in slow, steady breaths. For a moment, the room turned quiet... until Miki slammed her hands down on the table, causing even Meru to jump out of her seat and screamed, "ARE YOU OUT OF YOUR MINDS!?"

Miki looked around and noticed everyone staring at her before taking a deep breath and composing herself, "Sorry, Commander, I lost my temper for a second. But my point still stands; why do we need to reinstate those projects? It's clear Godzilla Junior doesn't hold any hostile intent toward humanity."

Aso sighed, remembering how fond Miki was of the new Godzilla. "Mrs. Saegusa, it's just out of preparation in case he _does_ become hostile toward humanity. We don't want to but, the moment he becomes a menace, we'll have no choice."

Miki simply crossed her arms and gave her commanding officer a hard stare. "Stop me if these names sound familiar; King Ghidorah, SpaceGodzilla, Destoroyah. All three of these Kaiju were on a threat level far greater than Junior's father. What if Godzilla Junior might prove to be _beneficial_?"

"What if he's _not_?" Meru piped up.

Miki realized her rival had a good point. But still, it didn't change her mood on what a close-minded idea this plan really was. She had to tell someone, and she knew just who to talk with.

Miki sighed, "I need to make a phonecall. Excuse me."

Aso nodded in approval as Miki left the room muttering to herself. She had a feeling Azusa would be even _less_ happy than she was.


	23. Chapter 20: A Visit With Grandpa

Chapter 20:

A Visit With Grandpa

"They want to _what_!?" Hisshin heard his mother snap into the phone even inside of his room. Azusa could yell loud enough to dent the sound barrier if she felt like it. The Gojo family and the princesses were lucky enough to escape the devastation in Minato and luckily, the car was nowhere in the crossfire. Right now, he and the royal siblings were hanging out in his room.

"So, that was your brother?" Daiyara asked, her head upside down from his _futon._ Hisshin nodded, "Yeah, his name's Godzilla Junior. I just either call him Goji, Godzilla or Bro. Oh, and before you ask, _no_ , Mom didn't give birth to him, she raised him after he hatched from an egg."

Daiyara nodded. Then she sighed, changed her position and stared up at the ceiling.

"You're still bummed out about what happened in Minato, aren't you?" he asked sympathetically.

"Gee, what gave it away?" Daiyara asked in a deadpan tone even Salno would be proud of. She groaned in defeat, "What's the use? Who could honestly take us seriously after that?" She turned over on her side so that her back was facing Hisshin, Mana, Salno and Nightmare.

Hisshin and the girls looked at her with concerned gazes. Just then, the younger Gojo had an idea. It was a stretch but it might at least brighten up her spirits.

"I think I know someone who might believe you." he told her.

Daiyara just scoffed, "Really? Who exactly did you have in mind?"

"My grandfather."

Daiyara shifted her position until she was now facing Hisshin. Her face was full of skepticism. "And _how_ exactly is he supposed to help?"

"My grandpa works at a museum, remember? It's not too far from here in Kamata _and_ has a special exhibit for long lost civilizations," Hisshin explained, "imagine his surprise when he sees three girls of royalty from one."

Daiyara sat up into a cross-legged position and bit her lip. "I dunno-"

"C'mon, Dai," Mana piped up, "it's a least worth a shot."

Daiyara was silent for a little bit before she sighed and placed her feet on to the carpet, her toes digging into the carpet. "Alright, we'll try. As long as we bring Nightmare with us."

"Um, _why_?" Hisshin asked, as the Raia perked up at the mention of her name.

"Extra proof?" Daiyara shrugged.

Hisshin sighed. "Okay," he replied, "we'll bring Nightmare with us. It's not like the museum has a no animals rule or anything."

With that, the girls had slipped back into their original Muan clothing while Hisshin poked his head from the top of the stairs to his mother who was currently still on the phone with Mayumi's mother.

"Oh, right, 'preparations'," Azusa snapped into the phone, "in other words, Aso and the other bigwigs at G-Force are paranoid about Junior turning on mankind. He _does_ understand he didn't attack any cities on purpose, right?"

"Hey, Mom?" Hisshin called out to his mother. Azusa noticed him, "One second, Miki." she told her colleague before turning her attention to her son, "Hisshin, I'm on the phone, what is it?"

"The girls and I were going to visit Grandpa in Kamata."

Azusa rose her eyebrow, "Do you have enough money for a bus?" she asked.

"Yes."

"What time are you coming home?"

"Around nine or ten. I don't really need any dinner."

Azusa sighed, "Okay, just make sure you're home by one of those times."

"Will do, Mom."

Azusa continued talking with Miki as Hisshin, the girls and Nightmare walked out the back door.

"What do you _mean_ you haven't talked to Koji about this yet!?"

The bus ride to Kamata was a rather awkward one to say the least. Mostly because Nightmare kept growling at the curious passengers who were eyeing Daiyara. The bus screeched to a halt as the quartet and Raia arrived at their destination. As the door opened, the five of them exited and finally came across the doors of the Tanaka Museum. Once inside, Hisshin motioned the girls to follow him with Daiyara gesturing Nightmare to wait for her. The four came across a young woman secretary currently checking the time to see whether or not her shift had ended with a name tag reading Yukiko.

"Can I help you four?" she asked in a rather disinterested tone which even Salno would be proud of, not even once questioning why one of the girls had absolutely nothing on her feet.

"I'm here to see my grandfather. Just tell him, Hisshin Gojo has arrived." Hisshin told her.

Yukiko scanned the group with her eyes and pushed a button on her desk phone. "Mr. Gojo, you have a few visitors. One of them claims to be your grandson; one Hisshin Gojo."

" _I'm busy dusting the exhibits off but go ahead and send them in_." Akio's voice replied.

"Go on right ahead." Yukiko told them. Hisshin nodded and gestured the girls to follow him.

Currently, Akio Gojo was applying the polisher to the armor of Gekido-Jin, a supposed _oni_ of folklore made famous on the island of Kiryoku who would grow in size and power each time he was killed by drawing power from the earth around him until one day he was transformed into a statue by a monk who sacrificed his soul to fight him until the end of time. In fact, Akio was currently surrounded by relics with some sort of legend attached to them; the armor of Utsuno Ikusagami (the champion of Amaterasu the sun goddess), the sword of the legendary Red Ronin, the mask belonging to Gorou Suda and a jade statuette of the Yamato no Orochi. The room was practically filled to the brim with artifacts and paintings of (alleged) mythical roots. The sixty-something year old man was just about done when his grandson walked in.

"Hey, Grandpa!" Hisshin called out. Akio gave his grandson a 'one minute' gesture as he finished up a complete set of samurai armor sitting on top of a twelve-foot mannequin resembling an _oni_ with a large war hammer in its hands. Once that was taken care of, the man walked down the ladder, wiping his hands off of any leftover polish.

"Hisshin, glad to see you," Akio announced as he walked over to greet his grandson and... acquaintances, "so, who are your friends?"

"Before I answer that, let me ask you a question."

"Shoot."

"You know that exhibit for long lost civilizations you're working on?"

"Yes."

"Well here are three girls from the lost empire of Mu!" Hisshin declared as he gestured towards the three girls dressed in clothing not seen in Japan. One of the girls had glasses, sandals and short-cut hair, the other had a rather solemn look to her and the last looked like she had just stepped off the cover of an _ecchi_ swimsuit magazine. Akio scanned the three girls with his eyes before doing an 'and then?' gesture toward his grandson. Hisshin shot his grandfather a look of confusion before gesturing to the girls again. This was followed up by Akio repeating his gesture. Hisshin did it again, this time with a bit more of a spin-induced flare... and got the same reaction.

"Okay, why are you doing that?" Hisshin asked.

"Maybe because all I see are three cosplayers." Akio replied in a matter-of-fact voice.

Hisshin groaned knowing it had to come to this. It was time to pull out the big guns. He turned to Daiyara. "Alright, call her. Just... try not to give my grandpa a heart attack."

Daiyara nodded and put her fingers into her mouth. She let loose a shrill whistle which echoed throughout the musuem. Akio was about to say something... until Nightmare barrelled into the room with a sharp roar, her fangs bared in a growl as the sixty-plus year old stood in shock and awe (plus a bit of fear at the sight of the Raia's drool-glazed jaws.

" _Nightmare, bi'la._ " the girl who whistled for the dinowolf. The beast in front of him turned its attention to her and ran back to her side, assuming a rather dog-like sitting pose.

"Well," Akio coughed out, "that got my attention."


	24. Chapter 21: History of Shadows

Chapter 21:

History of Shadows

Once Nightmare had backed off, Akio took the time to give his grandson's new friends a tour of the museum. Just then, Daiyara noticed something in the far right and ran towards it, bare feet slapping against the linoleum floor. Hisshin followed her along with Salno and Mana before they came across a room filled with various artifacts and ornamental trinkets.

"Welcome to the Lost Civilization room." Akio announced as he led the five through the room. Daiyara's eyes were about to break out of her skull at the familiar sights around her. It was as if she were closer to home surrounded by objects from Mu's golden age. Mana was somewhat amazed and disturbed as to how and why someone was able to acquire relics that existed before she was even born. Salno, really didn't care in the slightest. So a surface-worlder found junk from Mu's pre-Cataclysm days, so what? These were so broken or expired they were better off collecting dust.

Suddenly, Hisshin spotted something at the very last hall of the exhibition room. "Hey, Grandpa? What is that?"

Akio turned to see what his grandson was talking about. "Oh, that? That is the latest addition to this room." he answered. The group arrived to what Hisshin saw; a large painting dated back to the Heian era that expanded almost the entirety of the wall it hung upon. Though it was dulled with age, the illustrations still popped. The three Muans gazed in raptured awe, even Salno's stoicness was shattered by the sight of the painting. This was an illustrated chronology of Mu; spanning from its birth all the way to its downfall. It was right there in front of them; the history and legacy of their empire all drawn by someone in Japan's early years. As their eyes scanned the tapestry, they fell upon a sight which filled them with dread.

Hisshin followed their gaze to the very center of the tapestry and saw exactly what it was; in the center was the drawing of creatures very similar to the ones they encountered in the forest as well as the Kage Umare that attacked Minato. They all resembled colossal animals but with bits and pieces of skeletons decorated all across their pitch-black bodies. Beneath them were the silhouettes of humans, both Muan and Japanese running for their lives. Looming above them was a massive dragon, pitch-black in color and a pair of wings stretched out like a cloak. On its back was a mane of darkness which entangled any unfortunate human. Its cat-like eyes were of a cold, calculating bright blue while its mouth was open in a sinister grin. The very sight of this creature sent chills down the young Gojo's spine. It may have been just a picture, but he could just feel the _malevolence_ dripping from the beast.

"What do you call that thing?" he asked Mana.

"Kagejotei, the Shadow Queen." Mana replied, "Legend says, the Kage Umare were born of the Dark Mana in Earth's creation. Though they existed in Nippon, or Japan, as you call it now, they had turned their attention on Mu and her sister empires and wiped most of them out with relative ease. They did this to feed upon their mana, the quintessential lifeblood of the Earth itself. Mu and her fellow empires of the sea, something the empires used the most. In the end, only Mu remained... but she eventually gained help as well."

Hisshin's gaze then turned to painted images of Mothra and Battra flying above the Kage Umare forces. "Mothra and Battra granted Mu their aid and managed to wipe out large portions of the Kage Umare, once infinite in numbers into a mere million. And before you ask, no, there is no such thing as a good Kage Umare. Not so much as a morally ambiguous one at that. They are born with the nature and instinct to destroy whomever or whatever they see fit embedded deep in their blood."

Hisshin shuddered at the fact creatures like the Kage Umare even so much existed. In all the years mankind had spent since 1954 with the Kaiju, never had he heard of something so... _evil._ Not even Kaiju like the force of nature that was Junior's father, the human-hating Battra, the powerful King Ghidorah, the cruel SpaceGodzilla, or the sadistic Destoroyah could compare to these guys.

"No wonder you came up to the surface to warn us about these things." Hisshin muttered.

"It gets worse." Mana told him, "If Kagejotei is freed, every single drop of Earth's blood she devours makes her all the more powerful... and woe to anyone who gets in her way.


	25. Chapter 22: Battle in the Rain

Chapter 22:

Battle in The Storm

Odojima was no stranger to the powerful storms which rocked its coast. The islanders had tucked themselves in to their beds, waiting for the storm to pass them by as usual so the day after they would be greeted with the sight of raindrops catching the morning sun's rays like liquid diamonds. However, they would soon be greeted with a different kind of thunder as rumbling footsteps filled the air. The shaking of the earth stirred the islanders from their sleep as they rushed out into the rain to see the commotion and were greeted with a sight they never expected to come across since 1954.

It was a colossal, reptilian beast whose grooved, charcoal skin dripped a mixture of sea water and rain. Its face was a cross between a cat and a dragon with fiery eyes which broke through the darkness. It stood upright like a man and a long tail whipped out from behind it. On its back, three rows of maple leaf shaped plates bumped against one another like bells. Among the people, a single name was whispered over and over in awe.

"Gojira."

However, a question began to arise from among the villagers, why had Gojira returned after all these years and in the midst of a storm like last time? Little did they know, this was not the same beast which ripped through Odojima eighteen years ago.

Junior had been wandering around the ocean for quite a while. The wounds he sustained from the battle with the unknown beast had just now closed up but he needed a place to rest. He didn't expect the island he came across to already be occupied with humans but he could always find space. He wasn't intending to stay on the island for very long. He slowly lowered himself onto the rain-soaked beach and curled up among the sand.

The islanders just stared in confusion at the sight of Gojira sleeping on their beach. For a while, they stood like that, eyes locked on the slumbering form of a creature they saw as a god who would only come up to their shores in fits of anger or displeasure. However, they just shrugged and some were returning to their homes to sleep the storm away. Or at least, that's what they intended to do. Just as a few islanders took a single step, a large, shadowy tear opened in the sky, its howling drowned out even the storm itself. They turned to see Gojira open his eyes and growl, disturbed from his rest as he raised his fiery eyes to the rip in the sky.

Junior narrowed his eyes as he lifted himself to his feets, his lips parted into a snarl and eyes narrowed as he could feel the malevolence snaking out of the tear in the sky. Just then, there was a feral roar and a giant black body erupted from the hole and slammed into him, causing the young king to roar out in surprise as he hit the ground, sending up sea water and sand into the air. He got back to his feet and responded with a tail smack into his attacker's face. As his opponent stumbled, Junior was given a better look; it had a somewhat human-like shape but with shorter legs and beefy arms. Its feet looked just like hands and, just like the beast he killed, it had jet-black skin, skeletal pieces decorated all over its body and glowing red eyes. This monster had come looking for a fight, something Junior was more than willing to give. Both combatants let loose a roar before charging at each other.

The islanders grit their teeth as the colossal bodies of Gojira and the gorilla-like beast collided. Gojira had dug his fangs into the skeletal ape's left shoulder and began to push it back, his opponent's feet digging gorges into the ground. The ape roared and planted its right fist into Gojira's face, causing the saurian to stumble and shake his head. This allowed the ape an opening as it swung its left fist. However, Gojira recovered just in time to grip the fist in his talons before pulling his adversary back and deliver a headbutt.

Sarukage fell to the ground on his back as he rubbed his skull-mask. He then felt a small (for him) indentation in its cranial area. This beast was powerful. No wonder it managed to kill Kemonokage with such ease. He snarled as the saurian spread its arms out and whipped its tail behind it, letting loose a roar of challenge (or mocking whichever came first). The ape Kage Umare roared in response and knuckle-charged at the upstart beast.

Junior dug his heels in deep and slammed his tail into the ground. His spikes were already beginning to flash bright blue as he narrowed his eyes, waiting for the right moment. Just then, with a roar, his enemy lunged into the air. Perfect. Junior whipped his head forward and his fire streaked across sky, brighter than any bolt of lightning the storm could ever produce and hit its mark: the chest of the beast. The sheer force of the blast sent the monster flying the side of a hill. Junior roared and went into a charge, just in time for him to slam into his enemy right as it was recovering. However, his adversary had a little surprise for him. The monster lifted its free arm, grabbed his neck... and sparks of electricity began to erupt from its hand. Junior roared in pain as his enemy dropped him to his knees before backhanding him.

The islanders screamed and cursed as they rushed for cover just in time for Gojira to slam into the ground, leaving a crater where their homes once were. Gojira snarled as he lifted himself up and roared in anger.

Righteous fury ran like wildfires throughout Junior's blood. He was going to make sure this... _thing_ was going to die and in the worst way he knew how. It may have caught him off-guard, but that was one time and one time only. With a roar which drowned out the now dying storm, the young king charged forth, claws extended and lips curled back revealing his fangs. He collided with the beast and made sure to dig his talons deep into his foe's hide, purplish red blood spurting out as he did so. The beast once again wrapped its hands around his neck and sparks ran down his body like rain. Junior was so enraged at this point he either didn't feel it or he didn't care.

The islanders watched as the two massive beasts grappled and struggled with each other, the gorilla wrapping its hands around Gojira's neck while the latter sank his talons deeper into the monster's flesh and even biting down on its neck causing the gorilla to howl in pain. That was when something caught their eyes. It was another beast similar to the other one in that it had the same skeletal armor, red eyes and pitch skin... except it resembled a wolf as it stalked Gojira silently, its belly close to the ground and eyes narrowed, prepared to make the kill.

Inukage had made sure to stay out of the battle between the beast and Sarukage. Besides, stealth was more of his forte and he just needed to have his brutish ally get the leviathan in a good enough position for him to make his move. His armored paws lightly touched the ground, not making a single noise as he crept up behind the clashing titans. He could already feel his fangs sinking into the beast and then into every single human on the island. However, just before he could make his move, the opponents shifted slightly left... and the leviathan spotted him from the corner of its eye. Inukage had been caught, now it was this time or never. But, before he could make even one step, he saw the monster's tail raise into the air... and the last thing he saw was it falling down to him.

A sickening crunch and a lifeless body was all the proof Junior needed to see that he had just killed his adversary's ally. Now, it was just one-on-one. Junior's spikes flashed and he loosed his flame just inches from his opponent's face, striking the monster at point blank. The beast roared in agony as it released him and covered its face with its hands, screaming in agony as its eyes literally melted from their sockets. His foe was now blinded. He then rushed forward to finish the job... until an image flashed before him.

 _It was his father, glowing brighter than the sun and flesh starting to-_

Junior roared in anguish... which allowed his enemy to blindly charge at him and collide. Junior sank his talons and his fangs into the monster as the combatants tumbled into the ocean, leaving the villagers of Odojima to stand in the diminishing rain in awe and shock at the battle that had unfolded before them.


	26. Chapter 23: Snatched Away

Chapter 23

Snatched Away

The rest of the day between Hisshin and the royal sisters was rather calm and collected despite the revelation other beasts like the Kage Umare existed. At 8:45 pm, the sun began its descent beneath the horizon. This gave Hisshin a chance to look upon Daiyara and he nearly held his breath on how the fading sunlight gave her a luminous glow against her bronze skin, her chocolate hair and-

"Hisshin, are you alright?"

Hisshin snapped out of his hypnotized state to see Daiyara with her head tilted. He smiled sheepishly and nodded, "Yeah, I'm fine, it's just-" The words clogged up in his throat. Maybe it was out of fear of not getting the answer he liked or he was just distracted by the way she reflected the light off her skin. Hisshin then mustered up the courage to speak.

"I was just wondering," he spoke, "what are you going to do when, y'know, you're all done?"

He then waited for her to say something along the lines of "Return to Mu and marry someone there." But really, to his surprise, she was in deep thought, her finger to her lip. "You know," she finally spoke, "to tell you the truth, I hadn't really thought about that. On the one hand, we may have to go back to Mu. But on the other hand, I don't think I'm ready to go back."

Meanwhile, Salno and Mana were watching this with fascination (or at least Mana was, Salno was just watching). However, the moment was suddenly broken as Nightmare growled at something. "What's wrong, girl?" Daiyara asked her mount, petting the Raia's side in an attempt to comfort her. Hisshin recognized that growl. It was the same growl she made moments before they were attacked by those shadow beasts that attacked them the other night. It was at that moment, another familiar sound hit their ears; the sound of a Kaiju alert siren.

The gathered crowd around them stopped what they were doing in hushed panic. It was clear the incident in Minato was still fresh in their minds and they had been on edge since noon. To hear the sound of those sirens blaring throughout the city.

Just then, one woman cried out and pointed to something in the sky. The people turned their heads and gasped at the sight of a large, winged creature circling in the twilight sky like an eldritch vulture. Even miles above the city, it was utterly gigantic. Almost immediately as JSDF F-18's rocketed towards the airborn beast, the people broke out into a screaming panic and ran for shelter.

"Come on!" Hisshin cried out as the sounds of distant missile fire filled the air. However, as the five ran, Hisshin noticed something from the corner of his eye. It looked like a giant, black blur that streaked its way among the fleeing people. Just then, in a brief moment, he could see the vague glimpse of a hunched over body... and a skull-like face. It was one of those things that attacked them in the forest! But, something seemed off. Why wasn't it attacking them? Hisshin then noticed how the creature seemed to hesitate leaving areas the sun had abandoned until he looked up and saw he, the sisters, and Nightmare were under a street lamp. It was there, Hisshin remembered the beasts cowered when Mana created that wall of light back in the forest. A thought finally occurred to him; _These things are afraid of light_.

Hisshin smirked as he stood his ground. "What's wrong?" he taunted, "scared of a little light? How does it feel, being so close yet so far? It's gotta be a bitch!"

The beasts hissed in anger, until one of them looked up and delivered a vile smirk of its own. "Not so much as you might think, human." it growled.

Before Hisshin could respond, a massive, clawed hand slammed into the pavement, sending him, Daiyara, Nightmare, and Salno sprawling... with Mana trapped between the talons as they began to close in on each other. As Hisshin came to, he noticed the entrapped princess gripping the claws of her captor; a giant, ash-black, three-headed dragon with blood-red wings. He could see her desperately trying to escape, tears of panic rolling down her cheeks.

"Mana!" Daiyara shouted out as she rushed to save her little sister only to be pinned down by Salno. Hisshin, without thinking, rushed out of the light of the street lamp in order to attempt to save her. Just then, the dragon spread its wings and flapped them, creating a gust of wind equivalent to a squall line which sent him tumbling into a wall.

He could faintly hear the sound of Daiyara and Salno running towards him as jets started firing at the dragon causing it to roar and take flight, Mana still clutched inside of its talons before everything turned blurry... then black.


	27. Chapter 24: Return of the Shadow Queen

Chapter 24

Return of the Shadow Queen

"Oh, your highness~," a slithering, growling, sing-song voice entered Mana's ears, "it's time to wake up~." To hear a Kageyokai was the last thing she wanted to hear, but the moment she opened her eyes, she was greeted with the last thing she wanted to _see_. It was a Kageyokai, its skull-like face twisted by a faux, joyful grin. She also noticed her arms and legs were held in place by rocky bindings, suspending her in mid-air.

"I suggest you strongly withhold any and all desires to break free," the creature purred, "not that you _can_ anyway." It tapped its claw against one of the croppings around her leg as if to prove a point.

"Spare me the attempts at pretending to be polite and just kill me already." Mana growled, having absolutely none of her captor's nonsense. The Kageyokai just chuckled and shook its head. "Why, your highness, you know I can't do that. When we finally have your sisters, _then_ we can grant you your wish." Its affable tone strongly clashed with every single word it just said.

"Thank you for that, sliver of hospitality." Mana sarcastically complimented the beast. The Kageyokai snickered before leaving her alone... or made her _wish_ she was alone. Not too far from her was a giant cross between a sarcophagus and a coccoon suspended higher in mid-air by the same rocky croppings as her. She could feel a strongly malevolent aura drifting off of it like the stench of a rotting Dragon-Bat carcass that had been shot down and left to bake in the artificial sun back home. It sent chills down her spine; chills that turned ice-cold the moment she could hear the laughter.

" **And to think I would never see the face of one of your kind in a millenia**."

It was a voice that echoed through her mind and slithered its way into her blood. It was rather feminine, but it was a slimy, cold, calculating one to boot. "Wh-who said that?" Mana asked, slightly disturbed.

" **Oh, you know who I am. What, from the stories your parents told you to keep you from sleeping. Surely, you would've known by now, Muan.** " the voice hissed.

"Kagejotei." Mana gasped, her mind almost immediately filled with the cold laughter. " **Yessss**."

It was almost as though a snake had died and its spirit had taken up residence in her mind. " **It has been ssso very long since I laid eyes on a Muan. Especially one of royal blood. One of** _ **three**_ **,** " Kagejotei mused, " **as for you, princess, you best not worry about your lonely visit. Your sisters shall be joining you oh so very shortly. However, you are quite adept in mana so you were the more... idyllic choice.** "

Mana could notice strands of shadowy ether stretching towards her, expanding out into claw-like shapes. Her heart was now beginning to race oh so very rapidly.

" **And besides,** " Kagejotei purred, " **it's been so long since I've heard a Muan** _ **scream**_."

Just then, the tendrils lashed towards her like bloodthirsty serpents, engulfing her. Inside, Mana could feel a sensation neither biting cold or burning hot but a mixture of both. She could feel the energy inside of her being sucked out as warm blue strands of mana were extracted by cold shadows like a mosquito sucking out blood. The only thing that anything could hear were her screams. After what seemed like hours, the shadow claws released the Muan princess who slumped forward, just barely conscious enough to see the coccoon in front of her begin to crack apart. Just then, a wing easily more than forty miles erupted from within, followed by another. It was right there, the shadowy tendrils exploded outward, revealing a colossal black dragon who glared down at Mana with malicious intent and a twisted smirk.

The dragon looked at itself, or rather herself, and flexed out her talons. Her smirk evolved into a full-blown smile. Soon, Kagejotei extended her wings as far as they could spread and roared, signalling to the world of her return.


End file.
